Recipe | Gnocchi with charred tomato salsa & ricotta

This is one of those dishes that feels cheffy but couldn’t be simpler to make. Charring the tomatoes and spring onions adds a little smoky hit, creating a cool, salsa-style sauce, while pan-frying the gnocchi gives them a restaurant-style crispy outer. 

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Serves 2

Takes 30 minutes

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Ingredients

500g (1lb 2oz) pack of gnocchi 

4 dollops of ricotta or mascarpone 

garlic bread, to serve (optional, but a true date-night addition)

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For the charred tomato salsa

200g (7oz) cherry vine tomatoes 

bunch of spring onions (scallions)

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (yes, I know it’s a decent amount but people in the Med live long lives, so go figure)

large handful of herbs of your choice (I like a mixture of parsley and dill, but basil and mint also work) 

½ teaspoon chilli flakes, plus a pinch to serve 

1–2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Method

Start to make the tomato salsa. Heat a large, dry frying pan over a high heat. Once the frying pan is visibly hot, add the cherry tomatoes and dry-fry for 3–5 minutes
until the skins start to blacken and the tomatoes are on the verge of bursting. Tip them on to a chopping board.

Meanwhile, trim the very ends of the spring onions. 

Put the pan back on the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then add the trimmed spring onions and fry for 3–4 minutes, turning halfway until nicely charred and beginning to soften. Tip them on to the chopping board with the tomatoes. Set aside the pan for later. 

Roughly chop the tomatoes and spring onions and add to a bowl. Finely chop the herbs of your choice (saving a few whole leaves) and add them to the bowl too, along with the chilli flakes and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and stir. Salsa done. 

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Once boiling, drop in the gnocchi and cook for about 2 minutes until they just float to the surface, then drain in a sieve.

Put the frying pan you used earlier back over a medium–high heat (no need to wash it in between). Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the drained gnocchi, then fry, turning regularly, until evenly golden. 

Divide the gnocchi between serving bowls, spoon over the tomato salsa and top with a dollop of ricotta or mascarpone. Season with pepper and the remaining herbs. Serve with garlic bread, if you’re extra hungry/in true love.

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Get ahead: make the salsa up to an hour in advance and leave at room temperature until ready to serve.

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Brown butter roasted cauliflower

Caramelised courgette, fennel & garlic orecchiette