Light seafood gnocchi alla pescatora

Potato gnocchi are much beloved in Rome where you will find them served with endless variations of the local sauces: amatriciana, carbonara, gricia and cacio e pepe.

Classics like ragù and gorgonzola are popular too, but for everyday meals I prefer lighter sauces like  puttanesca, tuna and tomato and my absolute favorite, mixed fresh seafood.

Every market in Italy sells a mixture of fresh or frozen seafood that is often named “misto mare”. The misto might include shellfish like shrimps, clams and mussels mixed with with diced fish fillets, calamari and squid.

The misto mare is used to make pasta all scoglio (sea rock pasta) that is based mostly on shellfish and to make pasta alla pescatora that is based mostly on fish fillets plus calamari and shrimps.

Pasta alla pescatora made with fresh seafood truly tastes like the sea captured on a plate.

The sauce is light, yet deeply flavorful, infused with garlic, fresh tomatoes, and the briny sweetness of juicy shrimps. If you can’t buy the misto, it’s easy enough to make it with fish fillets and shellfish of your choice but if you include calamari, please make sure to cut them in quite small pieces or they will not cook with the rest of the fish.

For this recipe I follow the unconventional method of cooking the seafood with the gnocchi for one minute only, then drain and toss with the tomatoes. It is of fundamental importance that you serve the gnocchi as soon as they are sauced, so prepare the tables and a nice chilled white wine and be ready to enjoy.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 350 g (12 oz) fresh potato gnocchi, better if homemade
• 250 g (1/2 lb) fresh mixed seafood
• 1 clove or garlic, finely minced or grated
• 5-6 small plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1 sundried tomato, finely minced
• a pinch of chile flakes (optional)
• 3-4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley

In a shallow pan that must be large enough to hold the sauce and the gnocchi, sauté the garlic over low heat with the sundried tomato, a few whole parsley stems and, if using, the chili pepper. Cook until the mixture is fragrant, approximately 1 minute, but don’t brown the garlic.

Add the diced fresh tomatoes, stir, cover and remove from the heat.

Chop the parsley. Reheat the sauce and keep warm. Remove the parsley stems.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi and the seafood at once. Boil for un minute, remove the gnocchi and fish quickly with a fine-mesh pasta strainer or slotted spoon and transfer into the sauce.

Stir lightly to incorporate, plate, drizzle with your best olive oil and serve immediately.

Serves 2