Basil gnocchi with oven tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella
Jump to Recipe Print RecipeAromatic gnocchi made from fresh basil
with slightly sweet cocktail tomatoes from the oven
and strong buffalo mozzarella
– the perfect dish to start the spring season !
The combination of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil immediately reminds everyone of the classic Margherita pizza. But this perfectly coordinated taste combination isn’t only on the pizza the absolute madness!
For me, these flavours are additionally always the unofficial start into the warm days – probably because in summer evenings you are often not hungry / or you don’t feel like cooking for a long time and just prepare a Caprese salad (tomatoes and mozzarella with basil and balsamic vinegar)!
Oven tomatoes
Stewing fresh cocktail tomatoes in the oven is probably the best thing you can do with these little delicacies. The sweetness of the tomatoes becomes slightly caramelised, the skin breaks open and becomes crunchy and the flesh becomes soft and tasty! To get even more flavours out of the tomatoes, they are sprayed with healthy olive oil just before the end of their baking time, when the skins are already cracked and the flavours can penetrate!
Tip for saving fat:
In order that the olive oil can be spread evenly over the tomatoes or other foods and everything is covered with a thin layer of it – without the food swimming in oil and thus without additional unnecessary calories and fat, I always use an oil spray in my kitchen: this distributes the oil evenly and in small doses perfectly on the food / or even on the pan where you want to fry something! I have linked an oil spray for you that can be used in any situation in the kitchen!
Buffalo mozzarella
Buffalo mozzarella is considered a delicacy in Italy and is more aromatic than normal mozzarella. It also contains more iron, vitamins and calcium than classic mozzarella made from cow’s milk. That’s why it’s more expensive, but the unique taste and light creaminess in the middle of the mozzarella ball are definitely worth it!
The best buffalo mozzarella is produced in Campania in the south of Italy and is called: Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP. If you have difficulties finding buffalo mozzarella in your home country, I have linked a high quality variety for you here: Mozzarella di Bufala – and don’t worry, the product will arrive at your home in an ice container within one day and is therefore perfectly fresh!
Basil gnocchi
The gnocchi are made from a classic potato dough and fresh basil. The dough is very pleasant and easy to work- small gnocchi are formed from it. These are briefly boiled in salted water and then tossed in the sauce of baked tomatoes!
More gnocchi recipes:
If you try the recipe, I would be pleased if you give me feedback and of course I am available for questions. Should you share the recipe or your homemade dish with your friends on social media, I would be very grateful if you would link me (Instagram @flavour. dreams) and set the hashtag #flavourdreams.
Basil gnocchi with oven tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella
Ingredients
Basil gnocchi
- 800 g cooked potatoes pressed through the potato ricer and cooled down
- 4 egg yolks
- 15 leaves fresh basil
- salt, pepper, nutmeg
- 25 g butter melted
- 220 g flour
Oven tomatoes:
- 600-800 g cherry tomatoes
- olive oil, salt, pepper
- 1 tbsp dried herbs like thyme or basil
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 50 ml white wine
- 20 g butter cold
- 15 g parmesan grated
- 250 g buffalo mozzarella cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Wash the cocktail tomatoes and braise them on a tray in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. After 20 minutes, briefly spray the tomatoes with olive oil (preferably with an oil spray to distribute the oil evenly), sprinkle spices over them and finish stewing. Then take the tomatoes out of the oven, let them cool down and carefully remove the skin of the tomatoes from the pulp with your hands.
- For the gnocchi, mix the egg yolks with the fresh basil leaves in a mixer and add it to the cooled potato mixture,flour, melted butter and the spices to knead to a smooth dough.
- Heat the flesh of the tomatoes in a frying pan with the icing sugar, crushing the tomatoes slightly to release their juice. Deglaze with white wine and let it boil down on medium heat.
- Divide the gnocchi dough into 8 parts, roll a long snake out of each. From these snakes with a diameter of 1 cm cut off 1-2 cm long pieces and put them aside (sprinkle them with enough flour so that they do not stick together!) Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water until they float on the surface (2-3 minutes).
- Add the gnocchi to the tomato stock, if necessary add some cooking water and thicken everything with butter and parmesan. Cut the buffalo mozzarella into small pieces and serve with the gnocchi.
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