Ingredients

(Serves 2 for a hearty main or 4 for an entrée)

Roasted Tomato Sauce

4 cloves garlic, crushed

A good pinch of chilli flakes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 x 400g can whole cherry tomatoes

1 x 400g can tomato passata

A good pinch of salt

Gnocchi

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 medium egg

1 medium egg yolk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup flour (you may need a little more if your eggs are large)

To Finish

200g buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn

2-4 Tbsp Pistachio pesto

4 Tbsp grated Parmesan

2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts

1 bunch basil leaves, picked

Roast It

Preheat oven to 200°C.
To make the tomato sauce crush 4 garlic cloves and heat 1/4 cup olive oil in an oven proof pot on medium heat. Add garlic to pot along with chilli flakes and cook for about 2 minutes stirring often, until garlic is golden. Add both cans of tomatoes. Add water to each can about a third of the way up. Swirl the water round to get all that tomato off the sides and add to pot as well. Add a good pinch of salt and bring to a simmer.
Once simmering, remove from heat and transfer to oven to cook for 1 hour-ish. After an hour remove from oven and scrape any burny, caramelized bits off the side of the pot and into the sauce. Check during cooking to ensure it’s not burning too much. If it is, turn the heat down or take it out. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.

Roll It

Bring a large pot 3/4 full of heavily salted water to the boil. It should almost taste like the ocean.

Place ricotta, egg, salt and Parmesan in a medium bowl and mix well with a whisk. Add flour and swap your mixing utensil to a spatula. Fold in the flour, until just combined to form a dough. If it seems too sticky perhaps your eggs were too big or ricotta too wet. That’s ok just add flour a little at a time, until you get a workable dough.

Get a tray out and lightly flour it.

Lightly flour your bench and tip your dough out. Cut it into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a long sausage shape about 2cm thick. Once they are all rolled out you can cut them into 1cm thick pieces. Transfer gnocchi to your floured tray with a fish slice and set aside for cooking.

Cook It

Carefully pour or fish slice your gnocchi into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the gnocchi floats to the surface of the pot.

While gnocchi cooks heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large fry-pan on high heat. When gnocchi floats to the surface of the water use a slotted spoon to transfer gnocchi to the hot butter pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

Eat It!

Pour your hot roasted tomato sauce into a serving bowl and top with gnocchi. Tear over mozzarella and drizzle over pesto. Sprinkle over Parmesan, pine nuts and basil.