Italy is calling!
Visiting Italy was a dream come true for my family! This beautiful country offers so much — history, culture, art and of course, amazing food. And where else can you immerse yourself in all things pasta!
One highlight from our trip was an afternoon in the Florentine countryside attending a cooking class in a local family’s farmhouse. We made fresh pasta from scratch and then dined with the host family. It was such an amazing experience.
One dish we made was gnocchi. These delightful small dumplings are usually made from potato, flour and eggs and are usually served in a sauce. They are truly little clouds of heaven!
For this recipe, gnocchi isn’t made from scratch. Fresh pasta from your local market will work just fine.
So let’s start cooking!
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
5-6 ripe plum tomatoes peeled, fileted and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 ½ cups beef stock
2 Packages Gnocchi
1 16 ounce package of Mozzarella (1/3 in slices, the other 2/3 in ½ inch cubes)
Kosher Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large ovenproof pan. Add red pepper stir around for about 20 seconds. Add onion and sauté until translucent and starting to color.
Add garlic and oregano sauté for 30 seconds more.
Add the tomatoes with a pinch of salt, pepper and basil. Sauté until the tomatoes start to fall apart and perhaps stick a little. Add the beef stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the mixture reduces by about ½.
In the meantime, bring a pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt and one package of the gnocchi. Bring back to a boil. The gnocchi are done when they begin to float and are softening. Fish them out with a spider or large slotted spoon into the sauce along with about ½ cup of pasta water. Stir into the sauce and slowly simmer while cooking the second batch of gnocchi.
After the second batch of gnocchi are incorporated into the sauce, check for seasoning and thin with some more pasta water if the mixture seems too thick.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the cubed cheese and top with the cheese slices and place in oven for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes preheat the broiler and when it is hot, move the pan under the broiler until the cheese on top is melted and starts to color.
Remove from the oven. Rest for 5 minutes and serve with Romano cheese. A dressed green salad goes nicely with this along with a glass of red wine.
