Creamy Tomato Gnocchi

Ingredients

• 800 g gnocchi, 2 packs fresh or vacuum-packed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 100 ml double cream
• 60 g Parmesan, finely grated
• 100 g baby spinach
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 20 g fresh basil, torn
• Crusty ciabatta, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and chilli flakes and cook for about 1 minute, until golden at the edges and fragrant — don't let the garlic darken past pale gold.
2. Tip in the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 2–3 minutes, pressing down occasionally, until they blister and burst. Add the chopped tomatoes, season generously with salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes until thick and rich, the oil starting to pool at the edges.
3. Pour in the double cream and stir through. Taste — it should be glossy, rounded and gently warming from the chilli.
4. Add the gnocchi straight into the sauce, no pre-cooking needed. Add a splash of water (about 4 tbsp), cover and cook for 3–4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the gnocchi are tender and pillowy and the sauce clings.
5. Stir in the baby spinach and grated Parmesan until the spinach wilts down and the sauce turns silky. Squeeze in the lemon juice, taste and adjust the seasoning.
6. Serve immediately, scattered with torn basil and an extra flurry of Parmesan over the top.