Gnocchi are such a comfort food. There are thousands ways to make them. Different dough, different sauce. These are the simplest and, from my point of view, tastier version.

These classic yet delicious version will make your memories go back to your Grandma and childhood. It is such a comfort dish. I love how in Italy we say “Thursday Gnocchi” even if we would and could eat gnocchi any day of the week. Apparently, this way of saying comes from the period just after the second World War. People had to think ahead what they were going to eat throughout the week as there weren’t many resources available. As on Friday families were planning to eat fish and fast, as for some religious tradition, they needed a rich meal on the day before.

It is so surprisingly, how things change with the time and now gnocchi are considered such a delicacy. What are you waiting for? It’s Thursday, get some potatoes, egg and flour and start cooking!

“Gnocchi on Thursday, fish on Friday, trippa on Saturday”
Roman Proverb

As Simple and Delicious as That: Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

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Prep Time 1

Cook Time 5

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2 people

Equipment

Bowl
Pot with Salted Boiling Water
sauce pan

Ingredients

400 gr Potatoes (Russel are the best)
100 gr Strong Bread Flour
1 Egg
1 pich Salt

For the Tomato Sauce

250 gr Tomato Passata
1 tsp Salt
to taste Pepper
to taste Basil
to taste Oregano
1 tbsp Oilve Oil

Instructions

Wash the potatoes and wrap them in aluminum foil. Bake at 180C for 30-40 min, until very soft. I would usually boil them with their own skin, but british potatoes are very watery. If baking the potaotes instead of boiling, you'll need less flour for the dough.
In the meantime, prepare the sauce mixing all the ingredients together and cooking at medium low heat, letting it boil slightly for at least half an hour. Stir occasionally.
Once the potatoes are tender, peel and mash them in a bowl. Add the egg, salt and flour and start kneading. Add more flour in case the sough results too sticky. It should be soft but you should be able to make logs.
Take a part of the dough and roll it out into a log on a floured surface. Cut the loaves into chunks and, by pressing lightly with your thumb, drag them onto a fork to obtain the classic shape (optional). Use semolina or strong bread flour to prevent them from sticking together. As you prepare the gnocchi, arrange them on a tray with a lightly floured cloth, well spaced from each other.
Pour them in the pot with salted boiling water, just few at the time. They will be ready once they come up the surface. Mix them with the Tomato sauce, adding a generous spoon of grated parmesan if you like.

Notes

These can be kept for a couple of days in the fridge. Never cook them in advance.

You could instead freeze them. Place the fresh gnocchi on a floured plate or tray, not too close one from the other, and put them in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once frozen, you can move them to a freezing bag. Cook tossing them directly into salted boiling water.

Keyword basil, gnocchi, passata, simple, tasty, tomato