Gennaro Contaldo's gnocchi al forno recipe

Gnocchi al forno is baked potato gnocchi with a cheese, ham and sage sauce. This recipe is great for a quick family meal, as it can be prepared a while in advance.

Ingredients

• 1 quantity of Basic White Sauce
• 150g/5½oz fontina cheese, roughly chopped
• 200g/7oz cooked ham, roughly chopped
• 30g/1oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• 6 sage leave
• 600g/1lb 5oz ready-made potato gnocchi
• 100g/3½oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. First prepare the white sauce. When it is ready, remove from the heat and stir in the fontina and ham. Set aside.
3. Bring a large saucepan of slightly salted water to the boil.
4. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small pan, add the sage leaves and sauté for a min.
5. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and when they float to the surface, take them out with a slotted spoon and add them to the pan of butter and sage, stirring well.
6. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish with some butter. Spread a little of the cheese and ham sauce on the base of the dish and add the rest to cooked gnocchi, mixing well. Pour half of the gnocchi into the dish, sprinkle with some Parmesan, then pour in the remaining gnocchi and top with the remaining Parmesan.
7. Cover with a sheet of foil and bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 mins. Remove the foil and continue to bake for a further 15 mins until golden.
8. Take out of the oven, leave to rest for a couple of minutes and then serve.