As I’m still trying to move away from white processed flour I thought I would have a go at whole wheat gnocchi particularly as the pasta turned out so well. As the whole wheat does have a flavour I needed something strong to go with it, I love sun dried tomato’s so I made a tomato paste to knead into the gnocchi. This worked really well in the broccoli cheese bake. The sundried tomato added a sweetness and the whole wheat tasted like the bake had breadcrumbs in it all mixed together with a lovely cheese sauce with added colour and flavour from the broccoli. In this recipe you do have extra gnocchi and extra cheese sauce if it’s just the 2 of you. I freeze the gnocchi and cheese sauce separately that way you have your gnocchi in batches and a cheese sauce to hand.

Ingredients (serves 4 or 2 with extra being frozen)

For the gnocchi

• 250g potatoes
• 50g dried tomatoes
• 1 egg yolk
• 500g whole wheat plain flour
• seasoning to taste

For the skinny bake

• 1 pink skimmed milk
• 40g plain flour
• 40g unsalted butter
• 200g grated cheese (we used strong cheddar)
• 1/2 head of broccoli
• portion of gnocchi (8-10 pieces each)

Method

For the gnocchi

1. Keep the potatoes in their skin and quarter, place in boiling water and gently boil for 30 minutes. After you have placed the potatoes in the saucepan add your sun dried tomatoes to a bowl, cover with hot water and leave to soften and soak for 30 minutes.
2. Once potatoes are ready and have cooled for a couple of minutes, remove the skins and put the peeled potatoes through a ricer on the finest setting into a bowl (or mash) season to taste.
3. Drain the soaked tomatoes and place in a food processor along with the egg yolk and blitz until a paste like consistency.
4. Flour a flat surface with flour and tip out your potato, make a well in the center and sprinkle over a handful of flour. Add the tomato paste into the well and add another handful of flour, lightly knead until combined. Keep adding your flour and kneading until you have a nice moist but not sticky consistency.
5. Take a handful of the dough and roll it out like a playdoh sausage until you have desired gnocchi thickness. Cut into 1 inch pieces and roll each piece onto the end of a fork to form lines to catch the sauce. Set aside with a tea towel over the top.

For the cheese bake

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees (fan)
2. Make the cheese sauce by adding the flour and a good splash of milk to a saucepan over a medium heat, keep stirring to form a roux (about 2 mins). Add in the butter and the rest of the milk, again stirring until combined (3-4 minutes) once combined add in 150g of the cheese and stir to melt. Set aside.
3. Add the gnocchi to a boiling pan of water once they float to the top they are ready (a few minutes) do the same with the broccoli but this time simmer for 5 minutes.
4. To assemble, add the gnocchi and broccoli to an oven proof baking dish, pour over the cheese sauce (reserving leftovers for freezing if you are only serving 2) sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden on top.

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