Gnocchi bake

Serves 4

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A pre-marathon meal should provide a number of key elements: carbohydrate, supplied by the gnocchi; easy-to-digest protein, supplied by the egg and cheese sauce; and plenty of vitamins and minerals, supplied by the tomato sauce. If time is short, you can use ready-made gnocchi and a tub of fresh tomato sauce. If you eat fish you could swap the eggs for canned tuna, or use half and half. Avoid any strong flavours, such as too much chilli or basil in the tomato sauce, as they can repeat on you while you run.

 

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
4 large handfuls of rocket or watercress
4 large eggs, hard boiled and sliced
500g potatoes, peeled and diced
200g plain flour
125g mozzarella
Salt and fresh ground pepper

 

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C or Gas Mark 5.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened.

Add the garlic, cook for another minute, and then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.

Stir and season well, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes while you make the gnocchi.

Boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes until tender, then drain. Mash them well: you want the texture to be as smooth as possible. Season well and add the flour.

Using a wooden spoon or your hands, make a firm dough. Knead the dough gently for a couple of minutes, then roll out into sausages about 1cm thick. Cut the sausages into pieces 2.5cm long.

Gently cook the gnocchi in a pan of simmering water for a minute or two until they rise to the surface. Scoop them out as they rise.

Place the gnocchi in an ovenproof dish, layer over the slices of egg and rocket leaves, then pour over the tomato sauce. Place slices of mozzarella on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with some green vegetables, such as broccoli and mange tout.