INGREDIENTS: (Serves 4)

1kg ripe, plum tomatoes; 3tbsp olive oil; 1tsp fennel seeds; 1 large onion, diced; 2 large garlic cloves, sliced; 150ml full-fat creme fraiche (half-fat will split during cooking); a large handful of summer herbs, roughly chopped (dill, basil and parsley)

METHOD:

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4.

2. Halve the tomatoes lengthways and put them, cut-side down, in an oiled roasting tin. Sprinkle with most of the oil and the fennel seeds and season with salt and pepper. Roast for one hour, turning over halfway through cooking. When cool enough to handle, cut each into smallish pieces with scissors.

3. Meanwhile, fry the onion gently in one tablespoon oil for four to five minutes until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute. Set aside.

4. For the gnocchi: boil the potatoes in salted, simmering water until tender. Drain, mash, taste and season well. Mix in almost all the flour and the egg. Flour your hands and knead into a ball. Using more flour to prevent sticking, roll out into long batons 2cm thick. Cut these into 2cm pieces.

5. Cook the gnocchi for exactly three minutes in boiling water, then drain and spread on a clean tea towel, separating them to prevent sticking.

6. For the sauce: Tip the tomatoes and their juices into the onion pan and add the creme fraiche and herbs. Very gently, combine until everything is evenly distributed. Check the seasoning, then stir the gnocchi into the sauce and serve with the Parmesan.

7. TIP: To get the traditional gnocchi shape, put a table fork, preferably one with four tines, face down on a board so the tips of the tines touch the board. Shape each piece of dough into a ball and roll it gently down the tines of the fork to make grooves in its surface. You should end up with a rugby-ball shape with indentations running around it.