Ricotta Gnocchi with Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe

How to make it

---

• *For sauce:
• Preheat oven to 350 F. Quarter tomatoes and put in an 9 X 12 glass baking dish (don't use aluminum). Toss with a couple tablespoons olive oil and season with salt. Roast tomatoes until shriveled and just starting to brown, about 2-3 hours. Set aside to cool and then puree in a food processor. Let cool if not using right away and store in a jar in the refrigerator.
• For Gnocchi:
• Add egg to ricotta cheese and oil and mix thoroughly. Add grated cheese to mixture and sprinkle with nutmeg to taste. Add sifted flour a little at a time and continue to mix thoroughly until dough comes together. Dump onto generously floured surface and work with hands to bring together into a smooth ball. Add more flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.
• Cut off slices of dough like cutting a loaf of bread and roll into ropes thumb size thick by spreading hands and fingers and rolling from center out to each edge of the rope See Photo. Line one rope parallel to another and cut 2 at a time into 1-inch pieces See Photo. Roll each piece off the back of a fork to make imprints that will help hold the sauce. Transfer gnocchi pieces to a lightly floured or non-stick baking sheet so they don’t stick together and put in the freezer while making the rest of batch. If you plan to save any gnocchi for future use, allow them to freeze entirely on the baking sheet before storing in a ziplock bag to prevent sticking together.
• When ready to prepare, bring a large stockpot of generously salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi to boiling water and gently stir once with a wooden spoon to create movement and prevent gnocchi from sticking to the bottom. As gnocchi rise to the top {a sign they are done cooking} scoop them out with a mesh strainer or a bamboo wire skimmer and immediately place in serving bowl shaking off excess water.
• Scoop some sauce on top of each layer of gnocchi as they are placed in the bowl to eliminate the need to stir them with sauce in the end and risk damaging or smashing the pasta. Generously grate cheese over the top and serve.
• *Note: my husband insisted on a meat sauce (as in photo) saute onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Add organic ground beef, salt and pepper and brown. Add roasted tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar to taste, and fresh basil leaves. Simmer for 2-3 hours. I'm glad he insisted because it was amazing but I'm sure it's still awesome with just the roasted tomato sauce :-)

  Close

  Close