You know how it goes when you spot a good looking recipe on somewhere like Pinterest, you think (a) “that looks tasty” and (b) “that looks like the sort of thing I usually have the ingredients for in my cupboard / fridge”, so you go to make it and (b) doesn’t turn out to be quite true (I really should menu plan). The recipe in question today is baked gnocchi with bacon, tomato and mozzarella from Simply Delicious. It turns out I didn’t have any cream, I never have mozzarella unless I actually am menu planning and I’m not a big fan of cherry tomatoes anyway. So I adapted with what I did have.
This provided enough tomato sauce for a gnocchi bake for two (two pretty large portions, it could have fed three) and some pasta (as a certain 8 year old I know doesn’t like gnocchi, weird boy). I wish I did have some cream as it would have made the dish a bit more decadent (as it looks in the photo on Simply Delicious) but hey I am meant to be on a diet.
To put how I constructed the dish simply, whilst I was waiting for the water for the gnocchi to boil, I fried the pancetta with the garlic until starting to brown. I then added the passata and the tomato paste, stirring occasionally on a low heat until the gnocchi is cooked. I then mixed in the gnocchi, put it in an oven proof dish, sprinkled liberally with grated cheese and then stuck in a preheated oven at 200 C for 10 minutes. Next time I may remember the cream or maybe some cream cheese.
