Pasta's Northern Italian Cousins

They are the sisters of pasta: gnocchi, polenta, and risotto. They are sooner served with rustic cuts of wild mushroom, warm slathers of brown butter, or fresh pepperings of thyme than they are ever spooned with marinara - though each is delicious when blessed with rich tomato sauces. They are the mainstays of Northern Italy - touting ties to Trentino, saluting the small plates of Emilia-Romagna. Rich in heritage, these sister staples are both titans of tradition and crusaders of creativity.

Gnocchi are light, airy potato dumplings that glow gorgeous in a rolling of golden butter and dusting of Parmigiano-Reggiano, spiked with a sprout of savory sage. They curiously begin with potato puree, rather than water or flour. The potatoes are boiled, peeled, milled and then hand-mixed - hardly kneaded - with flour and egg yoke. Speckles of salt and pepper are added, and then the dough is rolled into a hearty chord that is inch-cut, pinched into ovals, and rolled off a fork for its linear detail. By the time the dumplings are belly up in boiling water, they are done and ready to be tossed with jeweled drops of extra virgin olive oil, cool cuts of tomato, and lush leaves of basil.

Risotto is another sampling of the good earth of Northern Italy, made with short, plump kernels of rice found mostly in Lombardia and Piedmonte. The town of Arborio is especially rich in rice fields, thus giving a name to one of risotto's most popular varieties. Risotto differs from other rice in that its starch content is much higher, allowing for a creamier texture when cooked. The grain was introduced to Italians in the Middle Ages when Arabs dominated the southern mainland of the county, but it grew best in the marshy regions of the north - especially the Po River valley, which runs through Torino. Preparation begins with a slow, simmering broth; chicken is traditional, though vegetable and fish stock are also common. Separately, shallots are sauted in olive oil until soft, and the rice is stirred in, flavoring itself with the sweat of the onion. Wine is added, and then, broth is ladled in one half cup at a time to be sure the rice absorbs it slowly. The Milanese preparation calls for stirs of saffron, while the Barolo mixes it with red wine. Porcini mushrooms call upon the mountains of Italy, while spears of asparagus simply signal summer. In fall, serve risotto with half moons of butternut squash; in winter, with sausage and Parmigiano-Reggiano; peas, shrimp and prosciutto, in the spring.

While gnocchi is born from a potato and risotto from rice, polenta is made from coarsely ground cornmeal that is cooked slow, stirred constantly, and boiled for an hour or more in a traditional copper pot. It originated as a peasant food in Italy, a harvest brought back from The New World that grew easily in Italian soil. Today, polenta can be boiled off instantly, in about a minute, as it is precooked. It has become a trademark of chic, upscale dining because of its versatility. Oftentimes it is served as porridge. But it can also be cooked down and baked into cake form. Polenta balls, sticks, and patties are a crisp golden brown and are commonly topped with crumbles of Gorgonzola or smears of ricotta. They can also be sugared over, soaked in Grand Mariner, and served as cookies, as they would in Veneto.

Gnocchi, risotto, and polenta are not the flour children of Italian cooking, but they are the everyday plates of the traditional northern family - authentic, rustic, hearty and warm. The culinary artists of today have adapted the coveted dishes into dining monuments: They are the fashionable, the elegant, the attractive, the off-beat. But left to their simplicities, each of these pasta "sisters" is entirely satisfying when served only with a drizzle of fine olive oil and a glistening of butter. Now, that's style.

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