BAKED GNOCCHI SORRENTINA

SERVES 4

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 shallots, finely chopped 1 celery stick, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, bruised 2 x 400g cans Mutti Cherry Tomatoes 5-6 basil leaves, finely shredded, plus extra leaves to serve 1 cup bocconcini

GNOCCHI

450g full-cream ricotta 2 egg yolks

2/ cup freshly grated 3 parmesan, plus extra for serving ½ tsp salt flakes 1 pinch freshly ground white pepper 100-120g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 Heat oil in a large frying pan. Saute shallots, celery and the garlic on medium 1-2 mins or until tender. Add cherry tomatoes, season and cook on low 15-20 mins. Remove from heat, stir in basil. Cover with a lid and set aside.

2 GNOCCHI Meanwhile, discard any excess liquid from ricotta. In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, yolks, parmesan, salt and pepper. Add flour and work with floured hands or a wooden spoon until you have smooth, soft dough. (Pliable and a little sticky but not too wet. Don’t add too much flour as this will make gnocchi dense.) Using floured hands, divide dough into 6 pieces. Using one piece at a time, sprinkle with flour and roll to form a log. Cut log into small rectangles and set aside on a floured wooden board. Repeat with the remaining dough. 3 Preheat oven to hot, 200°C. 4 In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi, in batches, 1-2 mins or until they come up to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and toss with tomato sauce mixture. Repeat until all the gnocchi is cooked.

5 Place gnocchi and sauce in a large ovenproof dish. Top with bocconcini evenly and extra grated parmesan. Bake 15-20 mins or until the cheese has melted. Serve with basil leaves.