ricotta gnocchi with eggplant sauce

Eggplant Sauce
What you need
1 large eggplant, cut into 1.5cm dice
2 tablespoons table salt
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
400g can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
What to do
Season eggplant with salt and set to one side.

what to do
heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 8 minutes or until thickened. Stir in basil.

Heat remaining olive oil in a medium frying pan. Wash salted eggplant and pat dry. Panfry eggplant for 5 – 6 minutes until golden brown. Remove and place onto a paper towel-lined plate.

Stir egglant into sauce mixture

Ricotta Gnocchi
what you need
250g fresh ricotta
200g romano cheese, grated, plus extra to serve
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup plain flour, plus extra for dusting

what to do
For gnocchi, combine ricotta, romano cheese, egg, nutmeg and ½ cup of the flour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using your hand, mix ingredients together to form dough like consistency. Add remaining flour and mix to form a stiff dough.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll into 4 cylinders. Cut and roll into 1cm balls. Using the back of a fork, pull along ball of dough to make gnocchi shape.

Place gnocchi into a large pot of boiling water. As gnocchi rises to the top, remove and place in a colander to drain.

Toss gently in the eggplant sauce, serve with freshly greated parmesan.