Round and friendly Spicy Tomato and Basil Gnocchi
Spicy tomato and basil gnocchi
Gnocchi look so round and friendly! Well, actually more like round and dumpy, sort of like a dumpling some might say! But what is Gnocchi exactly? I know of a few people who refer to them as a congealed mass of mashed potato and believe they are not worth their while. These people also believe that gnocchi being potato is packed with carbs and hence calories and would rather eat a celery stick (which actually burns more calories to digest) or chew their own arm off (again burns more calories) than eat one friendly looking gnocchi. However, I beg to differ. Gnocchi is a Rome-style dumpling traditionally made from Semolina and potatoes. What you see is what you get. Potato on the inside and outside. Not like Asian dumplings at all, which have a vegetable/meat filling encased by pastry. Probably doesn’t help all those gnocchi fence-sitter that gnocchi is the plural for gnocco which means ‘lump’. Doesn’t exactly paint the most attractive picture does it?
Okay so I cheated just a tad by buying fresh gnocchi for this recipe, but hey, cooking from scratch takes a lot of time and let’s face it, most people, on most days are struggling to get everything done. I have come to the recent revelation that a lot of time is lost in travelling and preparation. If you want to know where those 10 hours of the day went, it was probably all that travelling you had to do to get everywhere to do everything! Teleporting MUST be a way of the future, because it really is the only way we will survive, that or forever run late.
Anyways, this Spicy tomato and basil gnocchi tastes great! I was even amazed! After all you have tomato sauces, but then you have tomato sauces! Forget about those people who would rather chew their arm off, because they’re missing out (and missing an arm too)! You really can’t beat the tomato and basil combination!
Spicy Tomato and Basil Gnocchi
Ingredients: 500g fresh gnocchi, 4 cloves garlic crushed, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 large tomatoes diced, ½ cup fresh basil chopped, ¼ cup pine nuts, ½ cup water, 1 tbsp chilli flakes, 8 Spicy Italian sausages, 1 avocado, salt and pepper.
Steps: To make the sauce: Place the garlic and olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat until garlic is lightly browned. Add the diced tomatoes, stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Place basil and pine nuts in a blender and blend until smooth then add to the pan. Add the water. Bring to the boil, add the chilli flakes and then leave to simmer.
Pan-fry the sausages until nicely browned then cut into slices diagonally and set aside.
To cook the gnocchi: Bring a medium sized pot full of water to the boil, add the gnocchi, and then bring to the boil again. Drain.
Add the gnocchi to the sauce and stir through
To serve add slices of avocado and spicy Italian sausage!
Serves 4-6
