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Basil gnocchi with simple tomato sauce and wild rocket

Silvana Franco
The best way to serve home-made gnocchi - with a herb and chilli tomato sauce, this dish by Silvana Franco makes a great vegetarian dinner

Basil gnocchi with simple tomato sauce and wild rocket

Method

1. Begin with the sauce. Place the tomatoes in a small pan, then half fill the tomato can with water and add that to the pan. Stir in the shallot, garlic, herbs, chillies and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for at least an hour until thickened and dark red.

2. Meanwhile, to make the gnocchi, boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes until tender, then drain. Mash them well - this bit is important because lumps will be noticeable in the gnocchi, so use a potato ricer if you have one, or mash the potatoes thoroughly to as smooth a texture as possible.

3. Sprinkle over the basil, plenty of salt and pepper and the flour. Using a wooden spoon or your hands, bring together to make a firm dough. Knead the dough gently for a couple of minutes and then roll out into sausages about 1cm thick. Cut the sausages into pieces 2.5cm long.

4. Gently cook the gnocchi in a pan of simmering water for a minute or two, until they rise to the surface. Scoop them out as they rise, toss with the tomato sauce and rocket leaves, and serve.

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Serves: 4

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 1 hr

Ingredients
400g tin tinned chopped tomatoes
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 sprig Rosemary, thyme, or a couple bay leaves
1 pinch crushed chilli flakes, (optional)
60g wild rocket leaves

For the gnocchi:

500g waxy potatoes (Desiree, Romano, Estima or Wilja)
15g basil leaves, finely chopped
200g plain flour
1 pinch fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper