Gnocchi

Ingredients

425g potatoes

250g plain flour

1 egg

2 medium shallots, chopped

400g courgettes, thinly sliced lengthways

15 cherry tomatoes

15g chopped parsley

2tbs butter

40g grated parmesan

½tsp salt

Ground pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil – make sure there is enough water to just about cover your potatoes once they are in the pan.

2. Add your potatoes to the pan, leaving their skins on, as this will help them not to absorb too much water. Cook the potatoes until they are tender, but still firm – this takes roughly fifteen minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes and leave to cool before peeling and removing any brown bits that might be under the skin. Now, mash your potatoes with a potato masher or a fork.

4. Measure out 250g mashed potatoes into a bowl. Mix in the 250g plain flour and the egg.

5. Knead the mixture until a ball of dough is formed – be careful not to over knead the dough, and be weary of adding too much flour at this stage, or it will make the gnocchi too hard. Knead just enough for the dough to come together. Dough should have a loose airy texture, not too gooey or too dense.

6. Divide the dough into four portions and form a snake-like shape with each one, about 1.5cm in diameter. Then, cut each snake into 1.5cm pieces.

7. To give a more attractive appearance, use a fork to gently mark ridges into each piece of gnocchi, or make a gentle indent with your thumb. To prevent sticking, keep the gnocchi in a cool area. Toss them with extra flour while they are waiting to be cooked.

8. Add the two tablespoons of butter to a pan and cook until the butter starts to brown.

9. Add the chopped shallots and the thinly sliced courgettes to the pan and cook until they soften, stirring occasionally, for around two to three minutes.

10. Add the tomatoes (chopped into halves), salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down – roughly one to two minutes.

11. Stir in the parmesan and the parsley.

12. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Drop the gnocchi in and cook for three to five minutes, or until the gnocchi has risen to the top.

13. Once the gnocchi is ready, drain and add to the pan of sauce. Toss the gnocchi in the sauce and serve immediately.