Tomato and Basil Gnocchi Bake

Ingredients

• 500g fresh gnocchi
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
• 250g fresh mozzarella, torn into chunks
• 40g Parmesan, finely grated
• fresh basil leaves, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• chilli flakes, to finish
• ciabatta, to serve
• crisp green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over a high heat until it shimmers. Tip in the gnocchi in a single layer — don't crowd the pan or they'll steam instead of crisp. Fry for 6–8 minutes, turning only occasionally, until they're golden with caramelised edges and have a proper crust. Season with salt and pepper, then lift onto a plate.
2. Preheat your grill to its highest setting.
3. Drop the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the same pan. Add the sliced garlic, chilli flakes and chopped basil stalks. Cook for 30–60 seconds until fragrant and just pale gold — don't let the garlic burn or the whole sauce turns bitter. Toasting the chilli flakes in the oil for those few seconds blooms them; raw chilli tastes dusty, bloomed chilli tastes warm.
4. Tip in the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 4–5 minutes, pressing gently with the back of the spoon, until they collapse and release their juices.
5. Stir in the tomato purée and let it darken in the pan for a minute — this cooks off the raw tin edge. Pour in the chopped tomatoes with a good splash of water to swill out the tin, then add the sugar and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. The water is the breakdown liquid: bare tinned tomatoes simmered briefly taste of heated tin, but with a splash of water they melt into something jammy. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and deepened to a rich brick-red.
6. Taste the sauce now and adjust — more salt, more sugar if the tomatoes were sharp, a crack more pepper. Adjust here, not at the table. Fold in the crisped gnocchi and most of the basil leaves so every piece is glossed in sauce.
7. Scatter the torn mozzarella in clumps across the top, then finish with the grated Parmesan.
8. Slide the pan under the hot grill for 4–5 minutes, until the mozzarella is bubbling and golden in patches and the sauce is blistering at the edges.
9. Scatter the remaining basil leaves over the top, add a pinch of chilli flakes and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil. Bring the pan to the table with the lemon wedges, warm ciabatta torn for mopping and the crisp green salad alongside — a squeeze of lemon over each portion cuts cleanly through the molten cheese.