Potato Gnocchi with Napoli Sauce

Potato Gnocchi with Napoli Sauce

We have been lucky to have several family trips to Italy. On our last trip my oldest son made it his mission to try every variety of gnocchi from spinach and ricotta to Roman gnocchi (no potatoes). This is his favourite, mine is the same gnocchi recipie but with a butter and sage dressing. It really is easy to make and a little goes along way as they are quite filling.

Ingredients
1 kg floury potatoes ( about 4 large ones)
1 cup plain flour
2 egg yolks
Napoli Sauce
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 400gm tins tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 tbs tomato paste
3/4 cup water
1 teas salt/pepper and sugar
1/2 teas dried oregano
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
3 tbs fresh basil

To make the sauce heat 2 tbs olive oil in a pan saute onion and garlic for 2 mins or until just soft add remaining ingredients except basil and simmer for 15 mins. Using a stick blender blend until you have a smooth sauce and add the basil. I freeze any left over sauce its great on pizzas , or just a stand by for simple pasta dishes.

For the gnocchi boil potatoes in salted water until tender when pierced with a fork. Using a ricer or potato masher, mash potatoes and let cool for 10 mins. Combine the flour and egg yolks with the potato and combine until you have a smooth dough. The dough will be sticky, flour your work bench and knead the dough gently. Work in extra flour to give you a damp dough to the touch but not sticky.
Divide dough into 4 portions, working with one at a time roll out to form a sausage about 1.5cm thick, using a sharp knife cut the dough into 1.5cm lengths. Gently press a fork into each gnocchi, this allows the sauce to stick to the gnocchi. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and gently add the gnocchi, it is cooked when they have floated to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon , place in serving bowls with the sauce and a generous amount of good parmesan cheese.