Fast ricotta gnocchi with roast tomato & eggplant sauce

Gnocchi recipe adapted from various sources- Izy Hossack’s The Savvy Cook, Gjelina, Anna Jones’ A Modern Cook’s Year

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

Roast tomato & eggplant sauce

1.2 kg ripe tomatoes, , chopped into 6-8 chunks each
2 cloves garlic , crushed
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil , divided in 2
freshly ground salt and pepper
2 medium eggplant
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves , torn
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Ricotta gnocchi

360 g supermarket ricotta
140 g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten (65-70g)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Line a rimmed oven tray or a large rectangular tin with baking paper and spread out the chopped tomatoes in a single layer on top. Separately combine the garlic, tomato paste and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pour over the tomatoes and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes while you prep the rest.
Slice the eggplant into 1.5cm rounds and lay out on another lined oven tray. Use the remaining olive oil to lightly brush each side of the eggplant with oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes, flipping at the 15 minute mark, until soft and golden.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the gnocchi.
Meanwhile, make the gnocchi. Press the ricotta out in a 1cm layer between double folded paper towels to press out some of the excess moisture. Tip into a bowl and add the flour and salt. Gently crumble together.
Add the lightly beaten egg and use a fork to combine into a craggy mass.
Tip onto a floured surface and bring together lightly with your hands into a ball. Rest for 10 minutes.
Cut the gnocchi mix into quarters. Roll each quarter out with your hands into a log, roughly 1.5 cm diameter. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut this into small pieces (see photos). Dust with flour and rest until ready - if you’ve made these ahead, rest them in the fridge.
Heat a large fry pan over medium heat with a splash of olive oil.
When the tomatoes and eggplant are ready, start cooking the gnocchi. To avoid the gnocchi sticking together as they cook, you may have to cook them in 2 batches- they need a fair bit of room in the boiling water. Add gnocchi to the boiling water and cook until they float to surface, about 2 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the floating gnocchi to your hot fry pan with a splash of olive oil.
As you are scooping out more gnocchi, fry the cooked gnocchi until starting to turn golden on one side (only a couple of minutes).
When all the gnocchi is in the pan, pour the roasted tomatoes and chopped up eggplant over them. Stir up gently to combine.
Serve immediately with generous freshly grated parmesan and torn fresh basil.