Gnocchi is such a wonderful dish when cooked right. It’s not that challenging and worth the effort! What we love about this recipe is how different it seems. Usually, we see gnocchi in the US with either brown butter sauce, cream sauce, or a basic tomato sauce. And while these are all amazing, we decided, with a little inspiration from Northern Italy, to change it up a little, and make this Basil Gnocchi with Yellow Tomato Sauce and Shrimp!
Yellow Tomato Sauce with Shrimp
The first thing that makes this dish special is the yellow tomatoes. The resulting tomato sauce plays with your mind a little, since tomato sauces are not normally yellow. But there is more to it than that. Yellow tomatoes just have a different flavor than red ones, especially in cherry tomato form.
Secondly, we added shrimp to the dish for a little excitement. We love shrimp and when poached in the tomato sauce, this dish really stands out. We like smaller, bite-sized shrimp here, but you could do whatever you want.
Third, the addition of butter to the sauce is a way to turn the normal consistency of a smooth tomato sauce into something a bit more refined and silkier. The rich flavor goes so well with gnocchi and shrimp.
The sauce itself is very easy to make and is delicious on any pasta dish, so feel free to make extra, store in the fridge for the week or freeze to have for a tasty pasta dish whenever you want.
Homemade Basil Gnocchi
Making potato gnocchi with basil is a subtle way to incorporate herbs into the dish. The resulting gnocchi is so tasty and interesting with herbs, and why not use basil when using a tomato sauce?
If you have had store bought gnocchi before and have been disappointed, we get it. Many store bought options are heavy and gummy, and flat out not great. But homemade gnocchi is pillowy soft, fluffy and quite simple to make.
Can I make gnocchi in advance and freeze them?
YES! Homemade gnocchi can be made in advance and frozen so that weeknight gnocchi meals are super quick and easy. But honestly, making it the same day isn’t much more work either. We always make extra gnocchi and freeze it. Simply follow the directions to make gnocchi below then place the entire sheet tray in the freezer. After about 45 minutes, you can remove the gnocchi to a freeze safe storage bag without it sticking.
To make frozen gnocchi, remove from the freezer and straight into boiling water to cook. There is no need to let the gnocchi defrost first (in fact, don’t do this). Frozen gnocchi will take about 1 minute longer to cook than fresh gnocchi, but will taste exactly like the fresh version!
Enjoy!
We hope that you enjoy this recipe for Basil Gnocchi with Yellow Tomato Sauce and Shrimp! If you give it a try, leave us a comment below, or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!
Looking for more recipes like this? Check these out:
- Our Current Favorite Pasta Dishes for Spring and Summer
- Seared Scallop Pasta with Vanilla Grapefruit Cream Sauce
- Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Pasta
- Spaghetti Carbonara with Asparagus
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Basil Gnocchi with Yellow Tomato Sauce and Shrimp
Course: Main Courses, Pasta, SeafoodDifficulty: Easy4
servings1
hour40
minutes0
minutesReady to make this recipe? Click HERE to have the ingredients delivered straight to your door!
Ingredients
- For the Gnocchi
1 1/3 lbs 1 1/3 (600g) red-skinned potatoes of similar size
1 1 ¼ cups (156g) AP flour (plus more as needed)
1 large 1 egg
2 tsp 2 kosher salt
2 Tbsp 2 finely chopped fresh basil
- For the Sauce
2 Tbsp 2 dry white wine
4 4 dry pints of yellow cherry* tomatoes (1134g) (3 lbs 2 oz)
2 tsp 2 kosher salt
½ tsp white pepper
6 6 thyme sprigs
1 1 bay leaf
4 cloves 4 minced garlic
4 Tbsp 4 unsalted butter
- For the Shrimp
1 lb 1 medium (U-30) shrimp, peeled and deveined
Directions
- Make the Gnocchi
- Add your whole, unpeeled potatoes to a large pot of cold water, turn the heat to high and bring them to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down and simmer until the potatoes are soft and offer little resistance when poked with a knife. Ensure the potatoes are covered with water the entire time, adding more if needed. This should take about 40 to 55 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. When tender, remove the potatoes and let them cool enough to be handled.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust it with flour. Set aside.
- Next, peel your potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Alternatively, you can mash them thoroughly with a fork or pass them through a tamis.
- Add the flour, egg, salt and basil to the bowl and mix together with a serving spoon, a fork or your hands. Once the dough comes together, turn it out onto a flat work surface and gently knead until the dough comes together in a ball. Do not knead too much or overwork the dough; rather, combine until just incorporated. The dough should be quite sticky but manageable.
- Using just enough flour to make the dough workable, divide it into fourths and roll each section into “snakes” or ropes that are about 3⁄4 inch (2 cm) in diameter.
- Cut each “snake” into small pillows about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long (make them smaller or larger if you desire). If you are using a gnocchi board, gently roll each piece into a ball and, and using your thumb, gently push it down into the board to make grooves. You can also use a fork for this or simply roll the gnocchi in your palms so that there are no sharp corners.
- Place the gnocchi on the baking sheet in a single layer and set aside until you are ready to cook them. Make sure that the gnocchi are not touching or piled on top of each other, or they may stick.
- Make the Sauce
- In a large sauté pan, add the wine, tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf over medium heat. Cover and let cook for about 6-8 minutes until the tomatoes soften and begin to break down. Uncover and add the garlic and cook another 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes can be smashed with little effort.
- Next, turn the heat to medium-low and, using a splatter guard, cook for an additional 20-30 minutes to concentrate flavors. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf and transfer the mixture to a blender. Blend until smooth and return to the pan. Continue to cook over medium to medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened a bit more, about 5 minutes.
- Cook the Gnocchi
- Bring a large, salted (should taste like the ocean) pot of water to a boil. Stir the water before adding the gnocchi to create a whirlpool and prevent the gnocchi from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the gnocchi during the last minute of cooking time for the shrimp (see below for timing).
- Add the Shrimp
- Once the gnocchi water is boiling, check your sauce for seasoning and adjust. Then add the shrimp to the tomato sauce over medium heat. The shrimp will cook in the sauce and will take about 5 minutes or so. About a minute before they are done, drop the gnocchi into the boiling water. The gnocchi will take about 2-3 minutes to cook. Once the gnocchi float, they are done and ready to remove to the sauce.
- Once the shrimp are done, turn the heat on the sauce to low and stir in the butter, 1 Tbsp at a time. Add the drained gnocchi to the sauce to coat, remove from the heat and serve the gnocchi. Garnish with fresh basil.
Notes
- If you prefer to make the gnocchi in advance and freeze them, as we often do, place the baking sheet of gnocchi in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Then you can remove the gnocchi to a freezer-safe bag or container without worrying about them sticking together. To cook, they may take about 1 minute longer than fresh gnocchi, but use the rule of thumb that once the gnocchi float, they are ready.
- If you cannot find yellow cherry tomatoes, yellow or orange grape tomatoes will work. You can also make this sauce with red cherry tomatoes for a red sauce instead.
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