Dearn's Gnocchi al pomodoro e mozzarella

Another simple Italian recipe which is easy to make with fantastic results, simply potato dumplings in tomato and basil sauce

1. Place the unpeeled potatoes (try to get floury potatoes such as King Edwards or Maris Piper) in a large saucepan, cover with salted water, and bring to the boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain, and peel before mashing and pushing through a potato ricer (which looks a bit like a large garlic press, I bought one in ASDA for a fiver) 2. Beat in the eggs and flour while the potatoes are still hot. Season with (rock) salt and pepper. 3. Using your hand, knead the mixture for about 3-4 minutes - until it becomes a smooth, soft dough. Take a handful of the potato mixture and roll into a long thin sausage shape, about 1.5cm thickness. 4. Slice the potato rope into lengths - about 1.5cm long. Using your thumb, roll the potato dumpling against the prongs of a fork, which will create ridge marks on one side (helps the sauce to stick to them). Do this with all the gnocchi before arranging them on a well-floured tray. 5. To prepare the sauce; soften the onions in a large frying pan with the olive oil. After about 5 minutes, add the tomato sauce (see me previous posting on pizzas about how to make this) and basil leaves, season with salt and pepper, and cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

5. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi, in batches for 2-3 minutes, until they rise to the surface. 6. Using a wire scoop, transfer the cooked gnocchi from the water into the tomato sauce. Simmer a further two minutes before adding the mozzarella cheese and some basil leaves. Serve straight away with a dusting of grated Parmesan cheese on top.