Birra Moretti | Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the tomato sauce:

Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and heat for two minutes. Add the chopped onion and fry on a medium heat for 2-4 minutes until softened. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Crumble in the vegetable stock and add the tomato puree, oregano, basil, sugar and balsamic vinegar and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

To make the gnocchi:

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a generous pinch of salt. Add the potatoes and boil for 20-30 minutes until soft. Once soft, drain the potatoes and sieve through a potato ricer 2-3 times to ensure there are no lumps (if you don’t have a ricer, you can use a grater or food mill).

Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and begin adding flour. Start to blend everything with your hands, adding more flour, but as little as you can get away with, until you have a workable dough. Work carefully and quickly, as the more you handle the dough, the harder and bouncier it will become.

Role the potato dough out into finger-width sausages and slice every 3cm to create the gnocchi balls. To shape the gnocchi balls, flatten them slightly with a fork and peel them back to create a curve.

Bring a large, deep pot of salted water to the boil and add a splash of olive oil, this will help stop the gnocchi from sticking. Working with a few of the gnocchi balls at a time, gently drop them into the water and boil for around 2 minutes, or until the pasta floats to the top. Drain the gnocchi and place to one side.

Once all the gnocchi are cooked, share between four plates and spoon over the tomato sauce to serve.