Gnocchi al Forno

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Gnocchi

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water, until they float.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePot

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.

For the Tomato sauce

1. 3
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and black pepper with the salt.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 4
   Add and fry 3 minutes, until the peppers soften.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 5
   Add the tomato paste and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

To assemble

1. 6
   Add the basil to the sauce and remove from the heat. Gently toss the gnocchi with half the sauce in the baking dish, pour the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkle with the mozzarella.

   Baking pan
2. 7
   Bake 20–25 minutes, until the mozzarella is bubbling and golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.