Baked Gnocchi with Sausage & Mozzarella

Ingredients

• 400 g pork sausages, meat removed from skins
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 400 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 100 g baby spinach
• 700 g potato gnocchi
• 200 g mozzarella, torn
• 50 g grated pecorino
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 small ciabatta
• 200 g rocket, dressed with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice, plus 30 g shaved parmesan
• 10 g basil leaves

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Get a large ovenproof frying pan hot over medium-high heat with the olive oil, then add the sausage meat in two batches, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Crowd the pan all at once and the meat steams in its own water; give it room and you'll get proper browning and crisp, caramelised edges in 6–8 minutes. Season the sausage generously with salt and pepper as it cooks.
2. Drop the heat to medium and add the onion to the sausage fat. Cook for 4–5 minutes until soft and glossy, scraping up any sticky brown bits from the base. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds. Do not let it colour.
3. Stir in the tomato purée and oregano and let them toast in the oil for 30–60 seconds until fragrant; raw purée tastes tinny, toasted purée tastes of roasted tomato. Tip in the halved cherry tomatoes with a splash of water to help them break down. Simmer for 8–10 minutes, pressing the tomatoes against the pan, until they collapse into a sauce that's reduced, glossy and slightly sticky.
4. Stir the baby spinach through in handfuls until just wilted. Taste; the ragu should be robust and faintly sweet, with the salt pulling the tomato and sausage together.
5. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously; it should taste balanced before you move on. Drop in the gnocchi and cook for 1–2 minutes, until they bob to the surface. Drain and tip straight into the ragu with half the mozzarella, tossing gently so every piece is coated but still pillowy.
6. Transfer everything to a shallow ovenproof dish (or leave it in the pan if it's oven-safe). Scatter the remaining mozzarella and the pecorino over the top in an even layer; you want full coverage so it melts into a single molten sheet.
7. Bake for 15–18 minutes until the top is bubbling and golden, the cheese blistered in patches, and the edges caramelised where the sauce has caught the dish. Rest for 3 minutes; the ragu thickens as it settles and the gnocchi stop being lava-hot.
8. Spoon onto plates, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and scatter torn basil leaves over the top so they wilt in the steam.