Gnocchi with tomato sauce

As these speedy gnocchi are made without egg, don’t prepare them ahead of time otherwise they’ll fall apart during cooking.

SERVES 1

PREPARATION TIME 20 minutes, plus cooling

COOKING TIME about 45 minutes

1 large floury potato, such as King Edward, about 275g

40g Tipo 00 flour, plus extra to dust

FOR THE SAUCE

1tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

1 small garlic clove, crushed 150g mixed cherry tomatoes Pinch of sugar

Small handful basil leaves 25g Parmesan, or vegetarian alternative, grated

1 Cook the potato whole and unpeeled in a pan of boiling salted water for 30-35min until you can pierce easily with a knife. Drain, then leave until cool enough to handle. Peel off and discard the skin.

2 Using a potato ricer or masher, mash

potato on to a clean work surface. Sprinkle over the flour and season. Bring the mixture together, working it well and kneading for a couple of min until pliable. If too soft, add a little more flour.

3 Roll into a 2cm thick sausage, then slice it into 2.5cm long pieces. Roll into balls, then press with the back of a fork or pinch in the middle to give them some shape – it helps the sauce to cling.

4 Bring a medium pan of salted water to the boil. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, sizzle for 10sec, then add the tomatoes and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes burst and make a sauce.

5 Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi in boiling water until they bob to the surface, about 2min. Drain and add to the sauce, together with most of the basil and Parmesan. Toss together and serve sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan and basil and an extra drizzle of oil, if you like.