Homemade Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce

I absolutely love Gnocchi. For some reason its plump shape combined with its pasta-like texture make me salivate for a large Italian meal! A few years ago I had gnocchi for the first time at one of my favorite chain Italian restaurants, Maggiano's and fell in love. Now even though its a bit on the heavy side, it's my go-to "pasta" whenever we frequent Italian restaurants.

A few months ago, Soner and I went on a beef aging "adventure" trying to see what all the fuss was about aged beef and to see if it really is possible to age beef at home in your own fridge (it is!) and ever since then I have been looking for our next big assemble from scratch meal. Unfortunately, he was not as interested as I in making gnocchi so I embarked on this adventure alone. As it turns out, gnocchi is not nearly as difficult as I would have imagined and I plan on working on it and making it again in the near future maybe adding spices here and there to come up with the most flavorful options.

So here it is, gnocchi. Made with a fresh tomato sauce, this dish is sure to win everyone's hearts and stomachs.

How to Make Gnocchi
Ingredients:

• 4 large Russet Potatoes, fork pricked
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbl freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbl unsalted butter, softened
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• 1 cup plus 2 tbl all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1. Bake potatoes at 425 degrees until tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly then halve and scoop our the flesh into a food mill or ricer (or you can mush well with a fork)
2. Add egg, cheese, butter, 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste; stir until combined.
3. Add flour and stir to make a rough dough, mix by hand until smooth. Add more flour if sticky.
4. Gather dough into a ball on floured surface, divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into 12" long, 1/2" thick logs with your hands.
5. Cut logs into 1" pieces.
6. Freeze on floured baking sheets until ready to cook.

OR
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add gnocchi, stir and cook for 1 minute after they rise to the surface and float, about 3 minutes in total. Transfer with a slotted spoon and serve!

Aromatic Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients:
1 tbl sugar
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Combine all ingredients in large bowl, tossing gently to coat. Arrange tomatoes cut side up on coated baking sheet. Roast at 200 degrees for 7 hours.
3. You can either process in a food mill for a smoother texture or roughly mash with the bottom of a glass or such.