I think a few home cooks tend to shy away from using gnocchi because it feels like a “restaurant” meal. As in, it feels fancy. Fancier than a bowl of spaghetti, right? But, I’m here to say that gnocchi is easy! And cheesy gnocchi? It’s easy! It’s cheesy! It’s a big bowl of love and comfort.
Cheesy gnocchi
When a recipe calls for cheese, potatoes and tomatoes you cannot go wrong! This cheesy gnocchi recipe could not be easier to create. The tomatoes are cooked until soft and jammy, cream and gnocchi is stirred through and then everything is topped with delicious mozzarella cheese. When tossed through sauce, gnocchi creates little pillows of fun that burst in your mouth. There’s nowhere for flavour to hide!
What is gnocchi?
Gnocchi is an Italian dish that is like pasta but it’s also kind of an Italian dumpling. Rather than just being flour and water, the main ingredient in gnocchi is potatoes. Cooking down the potatoes makes them malleable so you can form them into little dough balls. These dough balls then become the flavour sponges! Soak up the delicious creamy, cheesy, acidic tomatoes.
While I love to make homemade gnocchi, pre-made will do just fine in this recipe! It saves on so much time and makes this recipe the perfect midweek meal to turn to. Gnocchi is nothing to be afraid of if you haven’t cooked it before – it is really simple and is a bit of a twist on a weeknight pasta.
Another weeknight extravaganza!
Cheesy gnocchi is wonderful because it’s another mid-week pasta but with a little difference. You can surprise and delight the normal family attendees with something a little different! This one, I promise, is going to be a hit!
Want some more mid-week pasta hits?
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Cheesy gnocchi
Ingredients
- 500 g gnocchi 1lb
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves finely sliced
- 500 g cherry tomatoes 1lb
- 50 g parmesan 1.7oz
- 120 g buffalo mozzarella 4.2oz
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- fresh basil leaves to serve
- chilli flakes optional
Instructions
- Begin by bringing a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan on a medium heat, bring the olive oil to heat and fry the garlic for 1 minute or until slightly fragrant. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for 7 minutes or until they have burst open and create a jammy sauce. Stir the cream through the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to low.
- Cook the gnocchi al dente, drain and reserve up to 1 cup of pasta water. The gnocchi should take only 2 minutes to cook if using packaged gnocchi.
- Continuing on a low heat, stir the cooked gnocchi and parmesan through the sauce while slowly incorporating up to 1 cup of pasta until you have a silky and glossy texture.
- Place the sliced mozzarella over the gnocchi and cover the pan with a lid. Cook on a low heat for 2 – 3 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and gooey.
- Remove the lid and sprinkle over chili flakes and fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately.
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