Baked Gnocchi is the unsung hero of dinner in a pinch. When your refrigerator is almost empty, a potato dumpling like gnocchi pairs well with just about anything. A bunch of leftover veggies topped with cheese. Plus, it’s winter, and I want to turn everything into a casserole. Especially tomatoes. Fresh roasted tomatoes in ricotta and parmesan. This is basically baked lasagna gnocchi.
Here’s how you make it! Start with a medium casserole dish–not one of the huge 9×14 dishes, a little smaller than that. Then add a drizzle of olive oil to coat the bottom. Bring a medium pot of water to boil and just boil the gnocchi for two minutes and drain. Put the cooked gnocchi in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. In the same pot or in a skillet drizzled with olive oil, add the spinach and wilt it a bit. Spread it out over the gnocchi.
Crush your San Marzano tomatoes with your hands onto the spinach layer, and lightly mix it all together with a spoon. Next, add a some dollops of ricotta evenly across the top. Sprinkle some salt and pepper around the top. Then add your halved cherry tomatoes in a layer across the top. Then grate your parmesan cheese in a layer over the top of the dish.
Bake until the parmesan browns and gets bubbly. Serve hot.
- 1 lb gnocchi
- olive oil
- 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ½ 28 ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a medium casserole dish about 9x9 inches. Bring a medium pot filled with water to a boil. Once boiling, add the gnocchi and boil for two minutes. Drain the gnocchi. Pour the gnocchi into the casserole.
- In a large nonstick pan, add a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Pour the spinach over the gnocchi.
- Use your hands to crush the tomatoes over the casserole. Only use half the can of tomatoes and toss the spinach, tomatoes and gnocchi with a spoon. Spoon dollops of ricotta over the dish evenly. Pour the halved cherry tomatoes on everything. Sprinkle with salt and pepper generously. Cover with the grated parmesan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and slightly browned.
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