Gnocchi with tomatoes and basil

Serves 4

Gnocchi with tomatoes and basil (Jason Lowe)

Gnocchi is a kind of pasta for potato-lovers and pretty straightforward to knock up at home – just make sure that you buy nice floury potatoes, otherwise you will end up with a bowl of glue.

100ml olive oil
300-350g cherry tomatoes, halved
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
A few sprigs of basil or Greek basil

For the gnocchi

600-700g large floury potatoes, cooked in their skins, peeled and mashed
40g grated parmesan
1 medium egg
1 medium egg yolk
125g potato flour
1tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
A good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
60g butter to serve
Grated parmesan or pecorino to serve

First make the gnocchi. Gently mix all the ingredients together and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Scoop into rough balls about the size of a 10 pence piece with a teaspoon, then with a fork flatten them slightly, and roll them into a rough tubular shape; leave to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes on a low heat until the tomatoes are just starting to fall apart; season and put to one side.

Bring a large pan of boiling, salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi for 3 minutes, then carefully drain and toss in the butter. To serve, spoon the tomatoes on warmed serving dishes or bowls, arrange the gnocchi on top and scatter over the basil. Serve with the parmesan.