Vegetarian mains
Pepperonata with Gnocchi
We use pepperonata (a sweet, colourful pepper sauce) a lot in The Riverford Field Kitchen, whether it’s stirred through pasta dishes, served with roast chicken, or with whipped fava beans and rosemary alongside crusty sourdough. The key is slow-cooking the sauce to get the most flavour. It’s not a stir fry; you want to really break down the ingredients.
Cook's notes
Whenever you’re cooking pasta or gnocchi, use the starchy water to thicken your sauce. That’s how the best cacio e pepe is made!
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 2 red peppers
- 4 garlic cloves
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- small bunch of basil or rosemary, depending on the season
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp capers
- 30g green olives, sliced
- 400g pack of gnocchi
- Parmesan or vegetarian/vegan alternative
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Method
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Step 1
Start by peeling and finely slicing the onion. Cut the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds. Cut in half from top to bottom, then rotate and cut into 1cm slices.
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Step 2
Preheat a medium-sized frying pan and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. On a low heat, slowly cook down the onions and peppers.
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Step 3
Thinly slice 4 cloves of garlic and quarter the tomatoes. After 10 minutes or so of sweating the onions, add these to the pan. Continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, while you continue.
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Step 4
Pick the basil leaves or chop 1 tbsp worth of rosemary.
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Step 5
Once the tomatoes have started to break down into the sauce, add most of the picked basil/rosemary, the balsamic vinegar, capers and olives. Continue to gently cook, stirring often. This is your pepperonata sauce. We suggest cooking the sauce for a minimum of 20 minutes.
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Step 6
Meanwhile, place a pan of salted water on to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the gnocchi. Once the gnocchi floats to the surface, it’s cooked - approx. 2-3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop it out onto a plate.
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Step 7
When the first couple of gnocchi bob up to the surface, put a large frying pan with a splash of olive oil on a medium to high heat. When all the gnocchi are out of the water, keep the water to once side. Carefully tip the gnocchi into the hot frying pan to colour and fry on each side.
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Step 8
Once fried, tip the gnocchi into the pepperonata sauce. Add a spoonful at a time of the gnocchi cooking water to the pepperonata, to loosen and emulsify it. The starch and gluten from the water will help thicken the sauce. Check the seasoning. Serve on plates topped with grated cheese.