Gas leak emergency gnocchi

We have some serious demolition going on outside our house at the moment. A couple of out buildings have been demolished ready for the new build. At about 11.30 this morning the mini digger chopped through the gas pipe. Cue calling the emergency gas people....so no hob for the herby sausage sandwiches planned for lunch.

Instead we had Sausage, tomato and parmesan gnocchi. I have never eaten gnocchi prepared professionally, never the less, I have had a packet looking mysteriously at me from the corner of the store cupboard for some time (spontaneous ingredient purchasing is a weakness of mine). Google provided an excellent looking recipe that I could knock up from the rather scant ingredients available. So a cooking adventure on the spur of the moment, lunch is suddenly so much more fun, adventure time.

I grilled the sausages and did the gnocchi in kettle hot water and then in the microwave. Once cooked I popped the now chopped up sausages into the cold pasta sauce and warmed that in the microwave, then combined them together at the last minute. It turned out rather nicely. I would have preferred a tomato sauce with more of an edge to it - jars of pasta sauce seem too sweet to me since I've started making my own. The toddler, the 80 year old grandma and Mr Gingerbread man all ate it. Proving that you can be creative in a hurry.

Sausage, tomato and Parmesan gnocchi recipe

This easy sausage, tomato and Parmesan gnocchi recipe is full of the best of Italian food, and you'll have it on the table in just 15 minutes. Serves 4. Ready in 15 minutes.

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
8 Cumberland sausages, cut into bite-size pieces.
1 jar tomato pasta sauce, about 350g
800g gnocchi
100g Parmesan, freshly grated, plus extra shavings to serve

Method
Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over a high heat. Add the sausages and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, to brown all over. Tip the sausages into a sieve over a bowl to catch any excess fat, then return to the pan.

Reduce the heat slightly and add the pasta sauce. Add a good splash of water to the jar and swish out into the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes (freeze any left in the pack). Drain and stir into the sausage mixture, along with the Parmesan. Season with black pepper, divide between bowls and serve with the Parmesan shavings.

Recipe from here.