Baked Gnocchi with Bacon & Bocconcini

Depending on what our plans are I tend to like to cook more complicated, drawn out recipes on a Sunday but on this occasion hubby (although he was only bf at the time!) was in Cambridge and I was in North London for the day so I wanted something quick yet lovely and comforting (comfort food for me is a 12 month a year thing - but was particularly so in my rather pregnant, at the time, condition).

The week before I was in Borough Market with my friend BGJ to pick up some bits and pieces and we tried some fresh gnocchi from one of the Italian stands there. Oh my god, they were so good so my plan had been to come up with a recipe (this) and go back to pick up some of the gnocchi to go in it.

Unfortunately life intervened and I couldn’t make it down there to pick up some of that incredible gnocchi but I still really wanted this so popped into a Tescburys to pick up some ready-made stuff.

I might be wrong but I wonder if that was the way to go - non-refrigerated shop bought gnocchi tends to be quite firm which I think would prove to be a good thing. I used ready-made gnocchi that was refrigerated with the fresh pastas and that was on the edge if I’m honest. I suspect that the more delicate homemade type would have collapsed into mush with the baking. But anyway - give this a go, it is pretty good.


Baked Gnocchi with Bacon, Mushrooms & Mozzarella
serves 2-4 (you may have leftovers)

1 pack shop-bought gnocchi (400-500g)
1 tsp olive oil
1 small banana shallot, finely chopped
150g bacon, chopped
100g mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp tomato purée
125ml (small wine glass) white wine
handful cherry tomatoes, halved
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp double cream
salt & pepper to taste
100g bocconcini, halved (or mozzarella, torn into chunks)
handful basil leaves, torn

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi following packet directions. Drain.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a large heavy-based sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring, for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured.

Add bacon and cook, stirring, for a further 5 minutes or until the bacon is starting to crisp with most of the fat rendered. Add mushroom and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes or until mushroom is soft.

Add the wine. Cook, scraping any bits from the base of the pan, for 3-4 minutes or until wine reduces by half. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato purée, sugar and red pepper flakes and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream, basil and seasoning.

Add the drained gnocchi to the sauce and transfer to an oven-proof dish and top with the torn bocconcini.

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the mozzarella is melted and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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Gorgonzola Gnocchi with Parsley Salad

A brace of Olive mag recipes, as often seems to be the case when I cook from it. Here we have a very simple gnocchi dish served with just as simple salad.

You could use any sort of cheese with the gnocchi but as we’re talking shop bought gnocchi here it is best to use something quite robustly flavoured, the gorgonzola works well but other blue cheeses would be equally good or maybe a herbed goat’s cheese.

The parsley salad really lifts this dish and adds a little zing. If raw red onion is a bit too pungent for you you can take the bite out of them a little by submerging the slices in a bowl of cold water. Let them sit for at least ten minutes, stirring now and then before draining and tossing with the rest of the salad.

Gorgonzola Gnocchi with Parsley Salad
serves 2

1 pack of gnocchi (400-500g depending on where you buy them)
100g gorgonzola
100g half fat crème fraîche
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp capers
½ small bunch parsley, leaves only
½ small red onion, thinly sliced

Cook the gnocchi (they are done when they rise to the top of the salted boiling water, a matter of minutes), then drain and toss with the crème fraîche and cheese and tip into an ovenproof dish.

Meanwhile whisk the olive oil and vinegar together, season and then toss with the parsley, capers and onion in a small bowl. Set aside.

Grill the gnocchi until golden and bubbling.

Divide the gnocchi between two plates and scatter the salad over each before serving.

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Gnocchi di Ricotta

I have long known that fresh gnocchi in a restaurant (particularly in a restaurant in Italy!) is approximately a billion times nicer than that bought pre-packaged in a supermarket. Light, velvety & pillowy as compared to heavy and a bit stodgy & claggy.

However I had totally bought into the old myth that home-made gnocchi have to be labour-intensive and time-consuming. It seems that is not the case at all and even better I read that ricotta gnocchi (a traditional Florentine pasta) is even easier to prepare and even lighter than the more common Northern Italian potato gnocchi: super quick too.

The gnocchi should be served as soon as they're cooked, so make sure you have your chosen sauce ready - I had some of my amazing ragu that I’d cooked up a big batch of ages ago in the freezer so I just defrosted and reheated that. A simple tomato sauce would also be good or a "deconstructed" pesto or even just sage butter.

Refrigerating the gnocchi for fifteen minutes firms up the dough and makes it easier to work with and the finished gnocchi freezes very well and will keep for one month. (After that, they're still safe to eat, but the "fresh" quality diminishes.) Spread the extra gnocchi out on a sheet pan and place in the freezer until the gnocchi are firm. Then transfer to a freezer bag or container. Frozen gnocchi can be put directly into boiling water to cook.

So here we are: recipe of my own but inspired by very many I saw online.


Gnocchi di Ricotta
Serves 3

250g ricotta
1 medium egg yolk
¼ tsp fine sea salt
75 g freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino
50-75g plain white flour (I actually used 00 as I had just bought some) plus extra for dusting
freshly grated nutmeg

Discard any excess liquid that the Ricotta’s packaging may contain, then add the ricotta to a strainer lined with a muslin square. Leave to drain any excess liquid for at least an hour.

Add the drained ricotta, egg yolk, salt, nutmeg & pecorino or parmesan to a large bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Add the flour and stir until just combined. It may be quite sticky - refrigerate for 15 minutes then check the texture. You want it a little tacky but not so much that it is just clinging to your fingers. Add more flour if necessary but don’t overdo it as more flour = denser gnocchi and you want these as light & fluffy as possible.

Refrigerate for a further 15 minutes.

When you are ready to shape the gnocchi put a large pan of salted water on to boil and start reheating your sauce.

Generously flour a board and your hands, take a squash ball size dollop of the dough and place onto the board. Dust with flour then roll into a middle-finger thick roll.

Dust a knife with flour as well the cut the roll of dough into little pillows about ¾ to 1 inch long - place each on a floured baking paper lined tray. Dust again with flour.

Repeat with the rest of the dough. Then make little grooves in the gnocchi by rolling them off the back of a fork with your thumb (you can just leave them as plain pillows if you like).

When the gnocchi are shaped and the water is boiling add the gnocchi and stir once, so they don’t stick to the bottom.  Cook until they start floating on the surface of the water - about 2 - 4 minutes depending on their size then cook for a minute or so more.

Drain and serve with a sauce of your choice immediately.

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