Baked Gnocchi Takes the Night

So, the Italian Master Class was a ton of fun, and we all agreed that the baked Gnocchi was the hit. It was so gooey and cheesy and tomato-ey and fabulous, we couldn't stop eating it. At first, we messed up the Gnocchi, it was too wet and fell apart in the boiling water. But we fixed it fast and the result was MMM!

The salad was delicious and fresh, the chickpea flat bread was...interesting! They seemed to like it more than me, but they were in charge of the salt and it didn't have nearly enough in my opinion. But I'm glad they liked it! And the chocolate cakes were fantastic, but still, the Gnocchi won out. The recipe is below. Enjoy!!!

Gnocchi Del Casentino (High in the mountains. They LOVE to bake their pasta!)

2 # mixed wild greens and/or spinach

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Pinch of (fresh, microplaned if you have it!) nutmeg

Kosher salt and pepper

2/3 cup all purpose flour plus some for dredging

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 can tomato sauce

6 large leaves fresh basil, chiffonade

1 can diced tomatoes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 teaspoon sugar

Two roma or heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced

Two cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or sliced fresh mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1-Cook the greens in a little boiling water until tender. Drain. Wrap in a cloth and squeeze all water out. Chop fine and place in a bowl.

2-Add the ricotta, egg, and 2/3 cup Parmesan and nutmeg to the greens. Add in the flour until a dough forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3-Bring 6 quarts of well-salted water to a boil in a shallow saucepan.

4-Sprinkle your hands with some of the flour and roll the gnocchi into balls about 1 ¼ inch thick. Dredge the balls lightly in the remaining flour.

5-Drop the gnocchi a few at a time into the water. As soon as they rise to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain well. Arrange on a warm dish in the oven to keep warm. Cook the rest of the gnocchi in the same manner.

6-In a large bowl, combine the tomato sauce, ½ the basil, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

7-in a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Using two batches, sautee the gnocchi until golden brown on at least one side. Remove and keep in serving dish.

8-toss tomato sauce and gnocchi in the bowl. Transfer to 3 small or 1 large casserole dish. Cover the top with the mozzarella cheese. Layer the tomatoes on top. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

9- remove from oven, top with remaining basil and cool for at least 10 minutes.

Photo: stock