Gnocchi with Spicy Red Sauce

On St Pete Beach, there is a small Italian restaurant we use to go to when we lived out there that made just awesome gnocchi with a spicy red sauce. We've since moved over to Downtown Tampa and rarely make it back that way, so below you will find our version of it. Also, I must admit we cheated on the hardest part ha ha!! The worst thing about moving away from Atlanta is that they have a Trader Joe's!!! On our visit to Monica's parents house in Milwaukee (another city that has a Trader Joe's) we stocked up and brought back a few packs of their pre-made gnocchi. It's so simple, drop into salted boiling water and few minutes later, you are done! The red sauce is nice and simple and turned out great since we've been blessed with so much basil from our plant this year.

Gnocchi with Spicy Red Sauce

Ingredients

1 package store bought gnocchi (usually found in pasta aisle) prepared according to directions

1 can diced tomatoes (if you can find san marzano get it, you will be pleased!)

1 can tomato sauce

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cloves garlic

1 medium white onion diced

handful of fresh basil

Parmesan Reggiano (to grate over the top, get the good stuff it will make all the difference)

Olive oil to coat bottom of pan

Salt and Pepper to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes - depending on how spicy you like it

1 tbs Italian Seasoning (or 1/2 tsp of oregano, basil, marjoram, parsley, rosemary and thyme)

What we did:

1. Coat bottom of sauce pan with olive oil on medium high heat

2. Add red pepper flakes, onions and minced garlic and stir to coat and cook until onions are translucent - about 3-5 minutes

3. Add the cans of diced tomato and sauce and stir until heated through

4. Add tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper

5. Turn stove down to medium low, cover and cook for 15 minutes

6. At the end, stir in chopped fresh basil (reserve some for serving) and using immersion blender blend sauce to remove any big chunks of tomato (your not making tomato soup so don't over blend!)

7. Take your cooked gnocchi, add to sauce, stir to coat evenly and add more chopped fresh basil and top with grated parmesan!!

WDWD??

2006 Cakebread Rubaiyat: This is just an awesome wine, I know I can't believe we just cracked it open for dinner at home either! A blend 84% Pinot, 15% Zin, and 2% Syrah. We stuck it in the ice box for 15 minutes and served it. If you can find it you must try it! For info on the name and some back story about the wine visit here.