Gnocchi al Forno with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡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.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Gnocchi

1. 8
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   Oven
2. 9
   Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water, until they float.

   StovePot

   💡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. 10
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and black pepper with the salt.

   StoveFrying pan
2. 11
   Add and fry 3 minutes, until the peppers soften.

   Stove

   💡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. 12
   Add the tomato paste and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   Stove

   💡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. 13
   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. 14
   Bake 20–25 minutes, until the mozzarella is bubbling and golden.

   OvenBaking pan

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