Debbie Quinn has a lifelong love of food and cooking, nurtured in her parents’ restaurants and in her own family’s kitchen. Every fortnight she shares her passion and expertise with our readers, bringing her best recipes, tips and tricks to the table.
Deb’s Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato and Caper Sauce
This is an easy recipe. The gnocchi are light and fluffy. Just make sure you don’t overwork the dough. The more times you make this recipe the easier it gets. The sauce only takes about 10 minutes to make and is delicious.
Ingredients
Gnocchi:
2 cups full-fat ricotta
2 egg yolks (yolks only)
50g fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 cup plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of nutmeg
Zest of ½ lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced and roughly chopped
4 anchovies, roughly chopped
1 small chilli, finely sliced
1 tbsp salted capers rinsed
1½ bottles of Carmelina passata (630g per bottle) or 2 x 410g cans of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp caster sugar
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup water
½ cup of loosely packed torn basil leaves to garnish
½ cup grated pecorino cheese, for garnish
1 dessertspoon butter or olive oil to sauté the gnocchi
Method
For the sauce:
Heat oil over a low to medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add the garlic, anchovies, chilli and capers and sauté until the garlic just starts to turn light golden brown.
Now add the tomatoes. Bring to the boil then turn down to a low heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add ½ the torn basil leaves 10 minutes before the sauce is ready.
For the gnocchi:
In a bowl combine the ricotta, egg yolks, parmesan, nutmeg and zest, and season with salt and pepper. Now add the flour and mix until a soft ball forms, making sure not to over-mix.
Place the dough onto a clean floured surface and gently knead for just under a minute, ensuring not to overwork the dough.
Cut the dough into four pieces. Flour your hands and use your middle three fingers to roll out each of the dough pieces into a long sausage shape, smoothing the dough out from the middle and rolling it to make an even long sausage.
Cut the dough ‘sausages’ into 2cm gnocchi pieces.
Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a tray covered with baking paper and sprinkled with a little flour so the gnocchi doesn’t stick together. Cover the gnocchi with plastic cling wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi. Wait until they rise to the surface again, then lower the heat and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
Gently scoop the gnocchi out with a slotted spoon and place them into a non-stick frying pan with a tablespoon of butter, half the sauce and 2 tablespoons of gnocchi water.
Sauté for a minute or two then serve, adding a little extra sauce on top. Garnish with pecorino cheese and a little torn fresh basil.
Deb’s tips
- Europa Deli has most of the ingredients: ricotta, anchovies, pecorino cheese, capers and my favourite passata (Carmelina Passata).
- Don’t be afraid of using anchovies even if you don’t like them to eat. You wouldn’t know they were in the sauce. They dissolve into the sauce and give the sauce a great flavour!
- The anchovies and capers are slightly salty, so the sauce doesn’t need much or any added salt.
- Don’t overthink making the gnocchi. It’s a simple recipe.
- Make sure you use a sharp clean knife to cut the gnocchi. Wash and dry the knife after cutting each of the dough pieces into gnocchi.
- When simmering the gnocchi take a test to make sure the gnocchi is light and fluffy once it comes to the boil; it should only take 2 or 3 minutes depending on the size, but don’t overcook them.
- This is always better eaten when freshly cooked, however, the leftovers heat up in the microwave beautifully.