Roasted Gnocchi with Roasted Tomato Caper Sauce
Serves 3-4
A Puttanesca-style tomato-caper-olive-chile pepper sauce that’s roasted in the oven for a sauce that’s both fresh tasting and with concentrated sweet-salty flavors. Roasting gnocchi-those little potato pasta dumplings-makes them bouncy, light and with a hint of chewy crust. A perfect way to transform ordinary store-bought pasta into something a little different.
Tester tip: Look for egg-free gnocchi in those no-need to refrigerate packages. I found whole wheat vegan gnocchi at Trader Joe’s, but there are other good, cheap brands available out there.
Note: You don’t have to roast the gnocchi to enjoy the roasted sauce on top of that pasta or any other kind of pasta. I also recommend purchased gnocchi for this roasting over using homemade, just for the sheer work-load factor.
Roasted tomato caper sauce
- 2 pounds plum tomatoes, cored removed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced into thin slivers
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1/2 cup sliced green olives
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons red wine or balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Roasted gnocchi
- One 17 ounce package eggless potato gnocchi
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and have read a 9 x 13 x 2 inch metal or ceramic baking dish. Slice tomatoes in quarters, then slice each piece in half. Rub the tomatoes with olive oil, salt, oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Stir in minced garlic, capers, sliced olives and red pepper flakes. Place pan in the center rack of the preheated oven for 35-40 minute, stirring the contents of the pan occasionally; tomatoes will be soft and very juicy. Remove from oven and stir in vinegar, basil leaves and a few twists of black pepper. Cover the pan with foil to keep warm if the gnocchi is not finished roasting (see next steps).
2. While the sauce is roasting, boil the gnocchi in 3 quarts of water salted with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Stir gnocchi into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes; the dumplings will rise to the top. Drain and rinse with cold water, then drain well again. Spread gnocchi onto a nonstick baking sheet and gently coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then spread into a single layer.
3. The last 20 minutes of the sauce roasting, place the gnocchi on the bottom rack of the oven and roast for 10 minutes, then gently flip each piece and bake another 10 minutes. To serve, use a spatula to transfer roasted gnocchi to a serving dish. Spoon roasted sauce on top and eat immediately.