Gnocchi Bake
I’m currently learning to speak Italian and it’s a slow and frustrating process. But as I love Italy and how the Italian lifestyle, I really wanted to learn. I’ve only been having lessons for four or five weeks, but my memory is proving to be pretty bad! I’m calling it baby brain. However as my daughter is now three, I’m not too sure how long I can keep it up for…
During the lessons, we talk about the Italian culture and food. That gets me thinking about the breads, meats and cheeses all week. Plus pasta and gnocchi bake recipes. I think I could happily eat this kind of food all the time.
We are also fortunate to have an Italian Continental store locally, which sells authentic goods and has an amazing deli. I also love the ‘Italian week’ at Lidl – loads of interesting food in there too.
So, today I made a gnocchi bake. I’ve tried gnocchi recipes before and thought it’s a different way to eat it. When I first ate gnocchi it would just be with pesto and parmesan. This time I added some chorizo, but it’s such a versatile dish, you can do anything with it. Spice it up with chilli flakes, add chicken or keep it totally veggie.
The Recipe
Ingredients:
- 500g pack of gnocchi
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- a handful of peeled and sliced chorizo
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- I ball of mozzarella cheese/ or a few spoons of low fat cream cheese
- handful of grated cheese (cheddar or parmesan)
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh basil to garnish
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°
- Add the gnocchi to a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 2 minutes
- Drain the gnocchi then add the tomatoes, chorizo and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and combine
- Add to an oven proof dish and place the mozzarella onto the gnocchi, spreading it out. Then sprinkle on the grated cheese of your choice
- Add to the oven for around 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted
- Ganish with basil and serve with fresh bread and salad
So Simple
I like mine with a side of fresh bread and sliced meats, with griddled avocado, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. However, fresh Italian breads are pretty scrummy. My favourite is homemade rosemary focaccia.
