Weeknight
Gnocchi alla pomodoro (chasing the Westcliff dragon)
Pillowy potato gnocchi in a slow-cooked San Marzano tomato sauce with basil and butter. The dish I have been chasing since a near-midnight bowl at the Westcliff hotel in Parktown.
Fresh gnocchi cooks in 90 seconds. Have the sauce ready before you drop them in.
Method
- 01
Tip the tinned tomatoes into a bowl and crush them by hand into rough pieces — you want texture, not purée.
- 02
Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the halved onion cut-side down, the crushed garlic and the basil stems. Let them sizzle and perfume the oil for 3–4 minutes without colouring.
- 03
Pour in the tomatoes, add the salt and sugar, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is glossy and slightly reduced. Fish out the onion and basil stems.
- 04
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Drop in the gnocchi — they are ready when they bob to the surface, about 90 seconds. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon straight into the sauce.
- 05
Beat the butter through the sauce off the heat until melted and silky. Add half the parmigiano and a tear of basil, and toss gently — gnocchi are tender, treat them like that.
- 06
Divide between warm shallow bowls, scatter with the remaining basil and parmigiano, and finish with cracked black pepper and a thread of olive oil. Serve immediately.
Keep cooking
