Potato gnocchi w/ cherry tomato sauce
The easiest way to make gnocchi that tastes like a fluffy cloud
After a few unsuccessful (read: rubbery hockey puck) attempts to make gnocchi, I finally found a recipe that works every time.
This recipe makes the lightest, softest, cloudiest gnocchi pillows and would taste fantastic with browned butter and sage, blue cheese and walnuts or - really - any sauce your heart desires. In summer it is the perfect way to celebrate sweet, sun-ripened cherry tomatoes and spicy, in-season garlic.
Potato gnocchi w/ cherry tomato sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the gnocchi
600g potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
100g plain flour
50g pecorino cheese, very finely grated (plus extra, to serve)
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 egg yolks
For the sauce
5 cups cherry tomatoes
4 Tbsp olive oil
20 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
A squeeze of lemon juice
A pinch of caster sugar
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh chilli or chilli flakes (optional)
Notes
To make really beautifully light gnocchi you need a potato ricer. These look a bit like giant garlic crushers and you get one for about $30 online or at most cookware stores. They are absolutely worth the investment and will give you lighter-than-air gnocchi every time.
Method
Put the cherry tomatoes, olive oil and garlic cloves in a frying pan set on low heat. Add a couple of pinches of salt and leave to cook on a very low simmer. Cooking long and slow like this will make the garlic beautifully mild and sweet. If the pan starts to dry out, add a little water.
While the pasta sauce is cooking, boil the potatoes in well salted water (add a heaped teaspoon of salt to the water before you throw the potatoes in). Boil until they are very soft, then drain.
While the potatoes are cooking, mix together the plain flour, pecorino cheese and black pepper until well combined. Separate the egg yolks and have them ready in another bowl.
You want to do the next steps while the potatoes are still hot, so as soon as you’re able to handle the hot boiled potatoes, put them in your potato ricer, on its finest setting, and push the skinny little potato-noodles out into a large bowl. Tip in the cheese and flour mixture and the egg yolks. Mix everything together as gently as you can, until a soft dough has formed. Take care not to squish or flatten the dough while you’re mixing it - you want to keep it as light and airy as possible.
Cut your dough into 4-6 pieces. Take each piece and, on a lightly floured surface, roll and pull it out into a long sausage (again, trying to be as light and gentle as you can). Cut the sausage into little gnocchi pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Once your gnocchi is ready, throw it (in 2-3 batches) into a pot of boiling water. The gnocchi is ready when it rises to the surface of the water. Remove it with a slotted spoon.
Your tomato sauce should be a beautiful rich red colour by now. Add a squeeze of lemon, salt, pepper, fresh chilli and a pinch of caster sugar, to taste. Throw some fresh thyme on top too. Gently add the cooked gnocchi to the frying pan and toss until everything is combined. Serve at once, with a little extra pecorino cheese on top.
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