Roasted vegetable gnocchi bake

Roasted vegetable gnocchi bake
Prepare
less than 30 mins
Cook
10 to 30 mins
Serve
Serves 2

A rich, saucy bake made with tender pieces of gnocchi and lots of roasted Mediterranean-style vegetables.

This recipe is part of an air fryer meal plan for two.

Each serving provides 684 kcal, 21.3g protein, 56.4g carbohydrate (of which 12.3g sugars), 39.6g fat (of which 14g saturates), 7.9g fibre and 1.79g salt.

By Justine Pattison

Shopping list

Ingredients

  • 250g/9oz fresh shop-bought gnocchi
  • 1 medium red onion, cut into 12 wedges
  • 1 large yellow or orange pepper, seeds removed and cut into 2cm/¾in chunks
  • 1 large courgette, quartered lengthways and cut into 2cm/¾in chunks
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 200g/7oz tomato passata
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 150g/5½oz ball mozzarella, drained and patted dry with kitchen paper
  • 2–3 tbsp pesto
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Recipe tips

Method

  1. Put the gnocchi, onion, pepper and courgette into a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Toss together well. If necessary, preheat your air fryer at 200C for 3 minutes, or until it reaches temperature.

  2. Put the gnocchi and vegetables in the base of the drawer, without the crisper plate. If your air fryer isn’t suitable for cooking directly in the base of the drawer, use a suitably sized ovenproof container instead.

  3. Cook at 200C for 10 minutes (tossing or turning after 5 minutes), or until the vegetables are tender and the gnocchi is soft and golden in places.

  4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a small saucepan over a low heat and cook the garlic very gently for a few seconds, stirring constantly to soften (don’t let it burn). Add the passata and oregano and a little salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat .

  5. Stir the tomato sauce through the roasted vegetables and gnocchi. Top with torn pieces of mozzarella and cook at 200C for a further 4–5 minutes, or until the mozzarella has melted.

  6. Divide between two warm, shallow bowls and serve drizzled with pesto.

Recipe tips

You’ll find gnocchi (Italian potato dumplings) alongside fresh pasta in the supermarket. Ambient gnocchi (from the dried pasta aisle) would work too, but the results won’t be as tender. Leftover, uncooked gnocchi will keep in the fridge, wrapped tightly, for a couple of days or can be frozen for up to 1 month (cook from frozen when you want to use it).

Shop-bought pesto may contain parmesan (which is not vegetarian) and cashews (which is a problem for people with nut allergies). Check the label if this is an issue for you. Fresh pesto has a much better colour and flavour than the jarred kind.

Leftover pesto will store well in the fridge for a few days and can be frozen for at least a month. Use for tossing with pasta, topping soups, spreading into panini-style sandwiches and making into Italian-style dips or toppings for grilled meat and fish.

Passata is usually sold in bottles or cartons, and you should find it with the tinned tomatoes in the supermarket. It’s ideal for recipes like this, as the smooth texture is perfect for quick sauces. If you have any leftover, keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days, or freeze. Use for pasta sauces, casseroles and curries as well as saucy bakes like this one.

This recipe was tested using a 4–litre capacity air fryer. If yours has a much larger or smaller capacity, you will need to adjust the cooking times.