One pan roasted gnocchi with balsamic tomatoes and burrata
one pan + just 30 minutes = supper sorted
As many of you will know, I’ve worked nearly my whole career as a private chef. I did my time in restaurants too…but those days were (thankfully) short lived as I spent most of the time just praying all the bookings would cancel! Not because I don’t love cooking, I do, (a lot), I just found the restaurant kitchen a stressful place - my heart was constantly racing, the pressure was intense, and I was terrified of making a mistake. Anyway, working as a private chef is an amazing job, you can travel the world and cook for some incredible people. It’s hard work, I think harder than people might think and it does mean you’re on your feet all day so sometimes the thought of cooking when you’d get home in the evening was just exhausting. So one pan dishes like this are a saving grace. Pop everything in a roasting tray and then let the oven do the hard work.
I love making gnocchi but does that mean I never use the store bought stuff? Of course not! The fresh store bought stuff is great, the kind you get in the fridge aisle. Simply boiled it makes for a delicious and speedy weeknight supper - tossed with some fresh pesto or quick tomato sauce and plenty of cheese. Yum. It’s also very good fried in some olive oil and a little butter, garlic and sage and allowed to go wonderfully crispy - finish with a smattering of grated parmesan and it makes for a brilliant side dish. But I think my favourite thing to do with store bought gnocchi is actually to roast it. And it couldn’t be simpler.
You don’t even need to boil it first, just tear open the packet and tip it straight onto the roasting tray, along with the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and balsamic and then it goes straight in the oven. Roasting the gnocchi instead of boiling them won’t give you that light, dumpling texture you’re used to, but it possibly makes them even better. They get golden and crispy on the outside — almost like mini roasted potatoes — while remaining chewy and tender on the inside. Really very good. And you don’t need to hang around waiting for water to boil etc etc, you just pop it in the oven and let the oven do the hard work.
They are probably done at 20 minutes in a hot oven but I tend to give them 30 minutes just to give them a chance to get lovely and golden as that’s when they’re at their best. In the time it takes for the gnocchi to get crispy and golden, the tomatoes and garlic go lovely and soft. You don’t even need to cut the tomatoes in half - this really is so simple and perfect for days when you just can’t muster the energy. Once cooked, you squeeze the garlic from their skins and then mash the garlic and tomatoes with a fork to create the gorgeous sauce. As always it’s important to season well with flakey sea salt and lots of black pepper and then you add in torn basil. Scoop into bowls and top with whipped ricotta or burrata and you’re done. So quick and easy and so so good.
Sometimes cooking can be very simple and by using a handful of ingredients and by letting the oven do the hard work you can be rewarded with something far greater than the sum of it’s parts.
Also going to include my tip if you don’t have burrata, or feel it’s too expensive which it can be. Enjoy!
Serves 2