95-Year-Old Mirella from Rome Makes Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce!

95-year-old Marella has lived most of her life in Testaccio, a neighborhood in Rome which is famous for its market. Marella is friends with everyone and she still enjoys buying her produce here. She was forced to move by an unscrupulous property developer. Her ultimately unsuccessful campaign to stay in her home made the local news but she now lives reluctantly in San Paolo. Today she's making potato gnocchi, a popular dish for Thursdays in Rome. She's using large, flowery, red-skinned potatoes which she's boiled, halved. She skins them while they're hot. Marella then rices the potatoes and spreads the mash on her pasta board to cool a little. To make the sauce, she chops up a celery stick with its leaves, some parsley and a carrot. While they come to the boil, Marella talks about her life. Marella has always been a campaigner. She decants the veggies into another pan and chops up an onion. She fries the mix in olive oil. She adds a stock cube followed by some white wine. Marella adds a tin of whole tomatoes which she says are better quality than the ready-chopped versions. Marella adds a pinch of chili pepper and some salt. She scoops the celery and carrot into the tomato sauce. Cooking them separately ensures they cook properly and are soft enough when she blitzes the puree. She uses a stick blender to make a puree. And this is a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Marella says it sweetens the sauce and makes it easier to digest. Lastly, she adds a handful of basil leaves. Marella divides up her mashed potato and sprinkles a little flour over each mound. She gives each a gentle knead to incorporate the flour. Then she rolls them into a sausage shape. She dices them into walnut-sized pieces. Then she makes an indent in each one and adds them to her tray. Marella has a lot of gnocchi to roll, so I'm helping her. Marella dumps the gnocchi into simmering salted water. When they bob to the surface, they're nearly done. Marella spoons the tomato sauce into a bowl and scoops some gnocchi over it. She covers them with more sauce. Marella sprinkles over some grated pecorino romano, a salty, spicy sheep's cheese. And I'm the taste tester. Click subscribe for regular helpings of Pasta Grannies and come back next week when 87-year-old Ida makes macaroni with mushrooms.