Hopefully your freezer will already have a tub or two of homemade tomato sauce! Serve this baked gnocchi with a salad and some crusty bread, to mop up the sauce.
Equipment
- measuring scales
- measuring cup (½ cup)
- measuring spoon (tbsp)
- chopping board
- cook’s knife
- spatula or wooden spoon
- mixing spoon
- small spoon
- sieve or colander
- grater
- large bowl
- medium saucepan
- large saucepan
- oven-proof dish
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed
- ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
- 700ml reduced-salt pasata
For the gnocchi
- 300g spinach, washed and long stems removed
- ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
- 500g reduced-fat ricotta
- ½ cup plain flour
- 80g reduced-fat mozzarella, gratedEquipment
What to do
To make the sauce
- Heat the olive oil in the medium saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent (a little bit see-through and shiny).
- Add the parsley and pasata. Stir well to combine.
- Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, until sauce is thick and rich.
- Season to taste (optional).
To make the gnocchi
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
- Two-thirds fill the large saucepan with water and bring to the boil.
- Blanch the spinach in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then drain and rinse under cold water to cool completely.
- Using your hands, squeeze excess liquid from the spinach. It is important to remove as much liquid as possible so the gnocchi mix is not too soft.
- Chop the spinach well and place in the large bowl.
- Add the ricotta, flour and parsley to the spinach and mix well.
- Using a small spoon, form balls of mixture about 3cm in size and arrange in the oven-proof dish.
To assemble and bake the gnocchi
- Spread the cooked tomato sauce over the top of the gnocchi and scatter with the grated mozzarella.
- Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, until the cheese has turned to a beautiful golden brown.
- Serve warm with your favourite seasonal salad.