I’ve never been a gnocchi fan. There. I’ve said it. In all honesty: I think it’s the most boring food in the world. But my son, well, the kid loves all things even remotely related to Italian food. If it as much as looks Italian, he’ll eat it.

Gnocchi isn’t something I’d want to make myself. Granted, home-made does taste somewhat better, but I still find it boring. So now and then I just grab some gnocchi at the supermarket, sigh a deep sigh and get to it.

This is one of my son’s favourite dishes: gnocchi added to a tomato, pepper, onion and garlic sauce with lots of fresh herbs and mozzarella. Even I like it this way, which is saying a lot.

Ingredients:

2 pounds gnocchi
2 small onions
2 small red bell peppers
2 garlic cloves
2 14oz/400gr cans diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
handful fresh basil
9oz/250gr mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Wash the peppers and finely chop both the peppers and onions.

The gnocchi. They do look fun for such flavourless little balls.

Heat the oil and sauté the peppers and onions for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the dried oregano. Maybe a splash of hot sauce?

Add the gnocchi.

Stir until it’s all coasted with sauce.

Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the gnocchi is soft and tender.

Slice the mozzarella.

Transfer the gnocchi to a casserole.

Tear up the basil.

Stir the basil into the mix.

Top the casserole with the sliced mozzarella. Place it underneath a hot broiler or grill until the cheese melts.

 
I know that gnocchi is generally served as a main dish, but we only eat it as a side-dish… paired with a juicy, grilled steak and green salad.
 

One of the most tasteless foods transformed to something even I like. Not bad, I say.

Recipe adapted from BBC GoodFood.