Potato Gnocchi with a Wintery Tomato Sauce

These gnocchi are cloud-like and are best cooked while the dough is fresh – resting it for a length of time means that the gluten will start to develop, turning the dough more chewy than tender. Grating Ivy’s Reserve Vintage cheddar into the gnocchi dough lends a depth and savouriness that is utterly moreish.

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For the gnocchi 

• 1 kg floury potatoes, such as King Edward 
• 200g Italian “00” pasta flour, plus extra for dusting 
• 50g Ivy’s vintage reserve cheddar
• 1/2 whole nutmeg 
• Salt & pepper

‍For the sauce 

• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 200g roasted & jarred red peppers 
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 50g Ivy’s Reserve salted butter
• 1 heaped tbsp crème fraiche
• Salt & pepper 
• Vintage Ivy’s Reserve Cheddar, for grating (to serve)

1. Place the unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a couple of teaspoons of salt to the pan, then place the pan over a high heat with the lid on. Bring to the boil, and continue to boil for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are soft throughout to the point of a sharp knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then when they’re cool enough to handle after about 5 minutes or so, quickly scrape off the skins using a blunt knife. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl, or potato ricer to mash until smooth. If you spot any solid lumps, continue to mash until smooth, or pass the potatoes through a fine mesh sieve using the back of a wooden spoon to press the potatoes through the holes. 
2. Scatter 150g of the flour on a clean work surface. Crumble the mashed potatoes over the top of the flour and grate over ½ the nutmeg. Bring the dough and flour together using lightly floured hands. You might need up to another 25g of flour to bring the dough together if it’s very shaggy, or sticky. Once the flour is incorporated and the dough holds together as one ball after 2-3 minutes of kneading, cover the dough with the bowl used to mash the potatoes and rest for half an hour. 
3. While the dough is resting, make the sauce. Tip the tinned tomatoes, peppers and garlic in the bowl of a food processor with a ½ a teaspoon of salt. Blitz until smooth. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat until bubbling and use a spatula to transfer all of the red sauce from the food processor to the saucepan. Bring the pan to a simmer and continue to cook gently for 25 minutes. Add the cream to the pan with the tomato and pepper sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.
4. Divide the potato dough into four, then use lightly floured hands to roll into a rope, rocking the dough back and forth from the centre outwards until it’s roughly 2cm thick. Use a blunt knife or dough scraper to cut into 2cm pieces. Dip your thumb in flour, then press into the centre of each potato piece to create little gnocchi's that look like a cross between an unbaked thumbprint cookie, and very thick orecchiette. 
5. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, and salt the water well. While the water is heating up, melt the butter for frying the gnocchi in a large (28cm or 30cm) frying pan over a low-medium heat. When the water in the saucepan is at a rolling boil, lower in half of the gnocchi and cook until they rise to the surface of the water. Lift the cooked gnocchi into the pan with the tomato sauce using a slotted spoon. Keep the gnocchi warm over a low heat. Any extra uncooked gnocchi can be frozen in an airtight container between layers of baking parchment for up to 3 months. Test them as they bob to the surface in the boiling water - they may need an extra 30 - 60seconds. 
6. Grate in a generous dusting of fresh nutmeg. Taste and add salt and pepper according to your preference. 
7. Spoon the saucy gnocchi into warm bowls and serve immediately, with extra grated Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar.