Tomato & chorizo gnocchi bake

My husband is not a fan of gnocchi - when he saw me cooking this meal he said, "you know I don't like gnocchi" - but I hoped that he would enjoy this one (actually, I was hoping that he wouldn't realise it was gnocchi until after he started eating it, but he came into the kitchen while I was cooking and saw the packet on the bench). And, to his surprise, he did like it. In fact, the whole family loved it and wanted seconds.

This is a recipe that I put together from a few different recipes, and it's the sort of thing that you can add different things to, to suit your own tastebuds. Feta cheese, roasted capsicum, or other Mediterranean flavours would work well. I also used baby gnocchi but the standard size gnocchi would work just as well.

This recipe would probably feed a hungry family of 4 or 5 - we had heaps of leftovers which I have frozen for another day.

Tomato & chorizo gnocchi bake

1 red onion, finely sliced in wedges

2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 chorizo sausages, sliced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water
500g baby gnocchi
1 bag baby spinach leaves, chopped
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a medium sized baking dish.

Heat some oil in a pan and add onion and garlic. Fry 5 minutes or until onion is softened and beginning to caramelise. Add chorizo and cook for another 3 minutes until starting to crisp. Add tomatoes and cook for further 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and water and bring to simmer then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook gnocchi according to packet directions. Put the chopped baby spinach into a colander and rinse, leaving the leaves in the colander. Once the gnocchi is ready, pour the pot of gnocchi (including water) into the colander over the spinach to wilt the spinach. Drain any excess water and add the gnocchi and spinach to the chorizo mixture. Stir to combine then pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle over the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.