My Absolute Favorite Recipe to Celebrate National Pasta Day
Pasta is a beloved staple around the globe! With over 600 different shapes—from spaghetti and lasagna to rotini and tortellini—there's a pasta for every palate.
Delicious, nutritious, and incredibly versatile, pasta can shine as a main dish or complement any meal as a side. Add your favorite sauce, and it’s time to dig in. Mangiamo—let’s eat!
For National Pasta Day I would love to share with you my absolute favorite pasta recipe, and being Irish, my favorite pasta is made from potato... yep, I'm talking about gnocchi.
If you've never had gnocchi (pronounced N’YAW-kee) before you're missing out. It's a soft and pillowy delight that's part pasta and part dumpling, cooks up in minutes and is a specialty of northern Italy.
This recipe is super simple and comes together really quickly, just add a loaf of italian bread with some Kerrygold Irish butter and a lovely bottle of red wine and you're in for a treat!
Gnocchi With Pomodoro Sauce (serves 4)
This delightful tomato sauce is packed with flavor from herbs infused in olive oil, beautifully enveloping pillowy gnocchi and topped with fresh mozzarella balls.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 4 stems fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
- 4 stems fresh oregano
- 2 stems fresh rosemary
- 2 stems fresh basil, add a couple stems more for serving
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28 ounce can San Marzano style tomatoes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup heavy cream, optional but oh so yummy
- 1 16- ounce package potato gnocchi
- 8 ounces cherry size mozzarella balls, cut in half, or block of mozzarella cut similiar size
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a 10-inch high sided sauté pan or a saucepan over medium heat. Add the herbs and cook for about 5 minutes or until the they become crisp.
- Remove and discard herbs then add the onion and garlic to the oil, lowering the heat if needed so the onions cook gently and don't brown. Cook until the onions are transparent, about 5-7 minutes, then crush the tomatoes with your hand and add to the pan with juice.
- Season with kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the sauce reduces and thicken, stirring occasionally. Stir in the heavy cream and remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the gnocchi. Season generously with kosher salt and cook until the gnocchi float to the top of the boiling water.
- Drain and then place the gnocchi into the cooked sauce. Top with the halved mozzarella balls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese then drizzle the tops of the gnocchi with the remaining olive oil.
- Broil for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese melts and the tops become crispy. Garnish with additional basil leaves and serve immediately.
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