2 hours ago
1
Puttanesca purists, look away now. This dish takes the classic elements of a puttanesca – that is, anchovies, capers, olives, tomatoes – and combines them into a rich sauce for gnocchi, which are then covered in mozzarella, breadcrumbs and parmesan, and flashed under the grill. It’s exactly what you want on a rainy night. In fact, my sauce-averse toddler thought it smelled so good that she stole half of my plate – a win all round. (Although her pretty decent suggestion was that next time I use it as a pizza sauce, rather than on pasta or gnocchi. Noted.)
Crispy baked gnocchi puttanesca
I’ve non-canonically added in small cubes of aubergine, because they melt beautifully into the sauce while adding extra plant matter. To make this vegetarian, omit the anchovies, add an extra spoon of capers and use a vegetarian parmesan.
Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2 adults and 2 small children
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium aubergine, trimmed and cut into 1cm dice
½ tsp flaky sea salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
2 tsp small capers in brine, drained
1 tsp anchovies in oil (about five small fillets)
75g black olives, drained
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
500g fresh chilled or vacuum-packed gnocchi
150g ball mozzarella, roughly torn
40g white or panko breadcrumbs
40g parmesan
Heat the oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan or casserole, then add the onion and stir-fry on a medium to high heat for five minutes, until just starting to soften. Add the aubergine and salt, and cook, stirring frequently, for a further 10 minutes, until the aubergine has started to soften and brown.
Add the garlic, capers, anchovies and olives, and stir-fry for 30 seconds, mashing the anchovies well. Add the tinned tomatoes, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. (Note: it helps to use a good brand of tinned tomatoes here – Mutti’s are fantastic. Other brands may take a little longer to thicken sufficiently.)
Just before the sauce is ready, bring a large pan of water to a boil, then drop in the gnocchi and cook according to the packet instructions (usually on a rolling boil for two to three minutes). Drain well, then stir the gnocchi through the sauce.
Heat the grill to medium-high. Scatter the mozzarella all over the gnocchi. Mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan in a bowl, then scatter this over the mozzarella. Grill for three to five minutes, until the cheese has melted and the breadcrumbs and parmesan are well-browned, then serve hot.
