Interpreters are not usually needed when meeting a Casual Cook, but in this case proved essential as Mariagrazia Marcuzzi shared her dish.

She has been visiting the Border from Italy for two months, staying with her sister-in-law Edda Marcuzzi, of Wodonga.

Her daughter, Nicoletta, has also come to visit for a few weeks.

With the help of Edda and Nicoletta, Mariagrazia said she had been making this gnocchi for 50 years, having learned the dish from her grandmother and mother growing up.

Her experience certainly shone through as she created the gnocchi almost effortlessly in front of us.

With the dish complete, Mariagrazia then cleaned up the kitchen within minutes, nothing more to be done.

This efficiency has evolved not just from family influences but through industry practice as well. For 30 years Mariagrazia worked in a restaurant in Monrupino, a small town in the Italian province of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

She continues to cook in the traditional style she grew up with, which she developed by watching other family members and teaching herself.

Spaghetti, carbonara, lasagne and soups are staple fare while she also enjoyed making sweets.

Edda said this gnocchi dish came from a time when their region in Italy fell under Austria-Hungary control.

“So it passed from generations until us,” she said.

“It's a very old thing – I try and I burn the butter,” she added with a laugh.

By all accounts, Italian cooking did not include much added salt or sugar.

Edda said this dish could be sweetened further if wished.

“It's a dessert, you can eat (it) like that or you can put custard, ice-cream,” she said.

“You can add what you want, honey or syrup or chocolate.” 

Six things I can’t cook without: This proved a difficult concept to translate, with the Italians not used to thinking in this informal way about food. 

However Mariagrazia said a bottle of wine should always accompany lunch or dinner.

The presence of family, friends and a regular morning coffee are also important.

Common ingredients Mariagrazia used in cooking included flour and pasta.