Whip Up These 6 Delicious Italian Recipes From Serafina's New Cookbook

SERVES 4
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound plum tomatoes, diced
7 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
4 medium russet potatoes
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt to taste
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Basil leaf

Place the olive oil and garlic in a skillet and set over medium heat. When the oil starts to sizzle, add the plum tomatoes. When the tomatoes have softened, crush them with a fork or the back of a spoon. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil the potatoes until they are tender enough to pierce easily with a paring knife. Don’t check too often, as cutting through the skin may cause them to grow waterlogged. Drain the cooked potatoes, and when they are cool enough to handle, peel them and crush them with a potato ricer, letting them fall into a bowl. Let the potatoes cool to room temperature. 

Add the egg yolks to the potatoes and stir to combine, then add the 11/2 cups flour and the grated nutmeg. Knead by hand in the bowl until the ingredients are well combined. Lightly flour the work surface and transfer every last bit of dough from the bowl to the surface. Continue to knead, adding flour in very small amounts (but cautiously, as it is easy to make the dough too heavy), until the dough is soft and still slightly tacky, but not so sticky that it sticks to your fingers. Clean the work surface, lightly flour it, and divide the dough into 6 to 8 equal pieces. With the palms of your hands, roll each piece of dough into a cylinder as thick as your thumb. Cut the cylinders into pieces roughly 3/4 inch long. As you finish them, set them aside on a lightly floured surface and dust very lightly with flour.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi in batches until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon or skimmer and transfer to a large serving bowl. Toss with the prepared tomato sauce, then divide among individual bowls and top each portion with grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Garnish with basil.