Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce

I first cooked fresh gnocchi a few years ago after a bumper harvest of potatoes from the allotment.  We had six varieties from first earlies, salad spuds, roasters and my favourite, a variety called Picasso, presumably because all the eyes are on one side*.

We already had two bags of potatoes in the cellar when the fourth and fifth varieties were harvested.  So I started to scratch around for something that I could cook and freeze using the potatoes, which wasn't soup. 

That was when I found gnocchi.  Making them is as simple as mixing mash with half as much flour then cutting the dough into small pillows.  This was also when I bought one of my favourite kitchen gadgets, the potato ricer.  If you haven't come across one before, think garlic crusher on steroids.  To freeze the gnocchi, lay them on a baking tray so that they aren't touching each other and place in the freezer.  Once they are frozen you can pop them into a bag and they wont clump up and turn into one massive potato dumpling.

You really can serve gnocchi with any pasta sauce that you fancy (I know purists have rules about pasta shape and sauce combos but I don't care).  Tonight I fancied a tomato sauce to which I added a few bits and pieces from the fridge, including some of the leftover pork shoulder from Sunday. 

I won't tell you how to suck eggs, or make tomato sauce for that matter however, I think that a pinch of chilli flakes instead of black pepper when seasoning your sauce makes all the difference.

*Joking aside, Picasso is a great variety of early main crop potato.  If you are wondering what to grow next year, give them a pop. http://www.alanromans.com/p-1670-picasso.aspx