Gnudi with tomato sauce recipe

Gnudi with tomato sauce is a dish of pillowy ricotta dumplings served in a simple but richly-flavoured tomato sauce. Making your own gnudi is really simple, much easier than making a pasta dough and shaping  it using a pasta maker. These simple yet sophisticated dumplings make a low calorie meals with a difference, or an impressive dinner party starter. Our simple tomato sauce (known as a pomodoro sauce) complements the gnudi perfectly, without overpowering its delicate flavour.

Ingredients

• 450g ricotta
• 1 large, free range egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 45g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 60g plain flour
• 4tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

Method

1. Mix together the ricotta, egg and yolk and grated Parmesan. Bring it all together and season well with salt and pepper. Stir in the flour and use your hands to bring it together to form a soft dough. Use two tea spoons to shape the dough into 30 rough oblong shapes – they should be a little larger than gnocchi, placing them directly onto a well floured baking tin. Dust the gnudi with flour and set aside whilst you prepare the sauce.
2. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Fry the crushed garlic for a minute, and add a good grinding of black pepper. Stir in the tomatoes. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes, then blend together to make a smooth sauce.
3. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Cook the gnudi for 4-5 minutes, until they rise to the top like gnocchi. Drain and then toss them in the sauce. Divide into bowls, top with Parmesan and basil and serve.