Italian Date Night: Homemade Gnocchi

Gnocchi is one of the types of pasta that inspires a rumble of hunger at just the thought of the pasta, let alone the style of sauce that will coat it. Luckily, it also turns out to be incredibly easy to make at home. Add in a healthy tomato and basil sauce, and you can spend the remainder of the night on the couch with a (second) bottle of wine, thinking Mario Batali ain’t got nothing on me.

Gnocchi Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Potato per person
• 1/2 c flour per potato
• 1 egg (per 4-5 potatoes)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

• Peel potatoes
• Cut potatoes into even cubes, boil until fork tender
• Mash/Rice potatoes
• Create well for potatoes with measure flour
• Pile potatoes in flour well; create well within potatoes
• Beat egg and salt in potato well
• Incorporate ingredients, pull with fork to center
• Knead, form wide rectangle
• Cut into “slices”
• Roll dough into dowels, cut and fold pieces of gnocchi
• Drop into boiling water, gnocchi will rise to surface when done (approx. 2 minutes)

Tomato Basil Sauce Ingredients:

• 4 large tomatoes
• Fresh basil (1/4 c. or more, to taste)
• Garlic (4 cloves)
• Olive Oil (1/3-1/2 c., depending on amount desired)
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

• slice x’s through the skin of tomatoes, on tops of tomatoes
• Blanch in boiling water until skin starts to peel (approx. 3-5 min.)
• Pull tomatoes, peel, and cut into fourths
• Combine oil, tomatoes, garlic cloves in large skillet
• Reduce tomatoes, add basil leaves
• Add gnocchi, salt and pepper

Top with Parmesan cheese and mangiate!