Words and photos by Susie Sandford Smith

I’ve had a slightly strange week, a couple of job interviews along with a couple of ensuing rejections, a couple of very close family members independently being admitted to hospital, a COVID scare and launching this blog (at last). Whoopeee. With all of that, and a fair few other things… I’ve basically failed to do any shopping and my fridge and cupboards are pretty bare. I quite like it when this happens, I do a fridge raid and I’m forced to come up with something tasty out of whatever elements I can pull together.

Now, I do have to caveat this that what I call bare is probably not what many of you would call bare and, there are certain things (olive oil, butter, lemons, chilli flakes, salt, pepper etc), that I just don’t run out of. Nevertheless, I found myself ravenous and hunting the fridge this weekend and I came up with a gorgeous, comforting plate of cheesy tomatoey goodness that was ready in around 30 minutes.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

1 packet gnocchi

Olive oil

Butter

½ tin tomatoes (I used whole plum, but you could use cherry or chopped)

Dried herbs – oregano, marjoram, basil (whatever you have to hand)

Double cream

A couple of handfuls of grated hard cheese (I used a mixture of parmesan and pecorino)

A chunk of scamorza chopped into small cubes (or you could use mozzarella or, leave it out)

Method

• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/180 degrees

• Place a pot of water on to boil, adding in a good tablespoon of salt

• Heat a small saucepan over a medium heat and add a good splosh of olive oil and a small knob of butter.

• Once the butter has melted, add the tomatoes and stir, breaking down with a wooden spoon.

• Add in your dried herbs and dried chilli and then a teaspoon of sugar, stir again and leave to cook while you cook your gnocchi.

• Once your water is boiling cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions – normally they’re ready in about 3 minutes.

• As soon as your gnocchi is in the water, add a couple of good sploshes of cream (about 125mls) to the tomato sauce and turn up the heat so that the sauce bubbles gently.

• Once the gnocchi are cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer to the tomato sauce.

• Turn up the heat a touch, add another knob of butter if you wish, add a pinch of salt and a good crack of black pepper, and stir.

• Turn off the heat, stir through the cubes of scamorza and a tablespoon or two of the grated hard cheese.

• Sprinkle a tablespoon of grated hard cheese on the bottom of a small oven-proof dish, spoon the gnocchi mixture on top and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

• Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese melts and begins to bubble.

Serve with a spoon! Or, a green salad. Maybe even a chunk of crusty bread.

Variation

For a gorgeous, non-baked gnocchi dish, instead of the tinned tomato use a handful per person of cherry tomatoes cut into small pieces. Reduce the amount of chilli flakes and add in some fresh chilli finely sliced. Add a pinch of salt and a scant pinch of sugar and cook the tomatoes until they begin to break down and then add the herbs and the cream as per the recipe. Mix through the gnocchi and serve with a good grating of parmesan.