It’s cold. And we want comfort food. But with a bit of a kick. Hello baked chorizo gnocchi with Fat Bastard Shiraz.
This dish is so easy … and it’s good enough to impress even your fussiest dinner guests. Who’’ll also appreciate a glass or two of Fat Bastard Shiraz.
Baked chorizo gnocchi with Fat Bastard Shiraz
A lovely, easy dish for your next dinner party. This serves four, but is easily doubled.
You’ll need: 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 onions, finely sliced, 150g spicy chorizo, skin removed & diced, 4 cloves of garlic, minced, 1 small fresh chilli, finely diced, 2 tsp dried Italian herbs, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1x400g tin diced tomatoes,125ml fresh cream, 500g potato gnocchi, quarter of a cup fresh basil, roughly torn, 300g Fior di latte mozzarella, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, and fresh basil to garnish
Tip: You can cook this dish in an ovenproof pan / shallow casserole from the beginning or else transfer everything to an ovenproof dish at the end to bake.
To make: Preheat oven to 200ºC. Using a drizzle of olive oil, fry sliced onions and chorizo over a medium heat until soft and golden brown. Add the minced garlic, chilli and dried herbs and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook it off for a few minutes until it turns a warm brick red colour and smells fragrant. Add the tinned tomatoes and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook according to package instructions. The gnocchi will be cooked once it starts floating on the surface. Be careful to not overcook. Drain gnocchi and add it to the tomato sauce along with the fresh basil. Mix well. Scatter over roughly torn pieces of the fresh mozzarella, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.
Garnish with fresh basil and a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with crusty bread, a fresh green salad and a glass of Fat Bastard Shiraz.
