Spicy Tomato Gnocchi

This recipe for Spicy Tomato Gnocchi is a delicious and hearty camp meal that can be used as a base for adding other ingredients to (tuna, chicken, jerky or veg) or enjoyed on its own.

If you’re not feeling up to making the gnocchi at camp (it’s not that tricky, but if you’re tired… I get it), simply BYO your alternative carb of choice such as pasta, rice, rice noodles (my pick for weight and fast cooking) or even a serve of dehydrated mashed potato.

Ingredients

Serves: A generous 1

Spicy Tomato Sauce

• 1 tablespoon tomato powder*
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried shallot
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt**
• 1 teaspoon dried parmesan cheese
• pinch sugar
• pinch of ground pepper

Gnocchi

• 2/3 cup instant mashed potato (Deb)
• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 1/2 tablespoon powdered egg (Farm Pride)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• pinch salt
• 1/3 pinch garlic powder
• 1/3 cup water

Method

At home

1. Place all sauce ingredients into a ziplock bag and give it a good shake.
2. Place all gnocchi ingredients (not the water!!) into a ziplock bag and shake to combine. Make sure there’s enough room in the bag to add the 1/3 cup water at camp.

At camp

1. Add the water gradually to the gnocchi bag, squeezing as you do, to bring the flour mixture together into a dough. Squeeze and squish the bag to ensure all the ingredients are combined and mooshed together and you have a pliable, soft dough.
2. Bring 2 cups of water to the boil.
3. Cut off approximately 2 cm from one of the bottom corners of the dough bag, so you create a gnocchi piping bag.
4. They won’t be pretty (think rustic Nonna!), squeeze the dough out through the hole, slicing off 2 cm pieces into the boiling water.
5. When the gnocchi float to the surface (1 – 3 minutes), drain most of the liquid away, leaving 1/2 cup in the pot.
6. Reduce the heat to low.
7. Pour the contents of the sauce bag into the pot with the cooked gnocchi and stir gently to create a sauce, whilst not breaking up the gnocchi.
8. Simmer for 30 seconds and serve.

Options

• Olives
• Anchovies
• Salami or chorizo
• Tuna
• Tinned (or dehydrated) chicken
• Dried veg of your choice
• 1/8 teaspoon citric acid to give the sauce a lemony zing!

* I bought my tomato powder from Forun Organics. This stuff is life-changing. Oh, the recipes you’ll make with a bag of this stuff!

** If you can’t find this, just substitute for 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 pinch salt.

Check out my other recipes and food tips here.

You might also like:

• Easy Mango Chicken Curry
• Tiramisu for hikers
• Cookbook : Lightweight hiking cookbook
• Cookbook : Feed The Hike
• Free download : Outdoor Cookbook (TAFE)