Photo by Ben Fink

There's no need for a fancy prix-fixe dinner at a restaurant this Valentine's, when you've got the makings of an epic meal right at home. This gnocchi recipe from Pasta Sfoglia has everything but the kitchen sink in it -- we're talking sausage, peas, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. But don't linger so long over your gnocchi that you don't get to the main event. Mangia!

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
1 recipe Potato Gnocchi (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon grape seed oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
1 cup water
1 cup fresh shelled or frozen peas
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ pound smoked mozzarella, cut into ¼-inch cubes

Directions
1. Heat the grape seed oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break it up. Move the sausage around and cook until the pink disappears and it’s browned, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, water, peas, salt, and pepper.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook until they float to the top. Cook for 1 more minute.
3. While the gnocchi are cooking, evenly distribute the mozzarella over the sauce.
4. Use a wire-mesh skimmer to remove the gnocchi from the pot and place them directly into the skillet. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to carefully fold together the gnocchi and sauce.
5. Serve immediately.

Potato Gnocchi
Makes: 2 pounds gnocchi

Ingredients
3 pounds unpeeled Idaho potatoes
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 egg
Rice flour for dusting

Directions
1. Gently boil the potatoes in their jackets in a large pot of water over medium heat until a tester passes easily through the thickest part. Remove the potatoes from the pot and let cool to the touch; they shouldn’t get completely cold.
2. Wrap the potatoes in a kitchen towel or cotton napkin and rub to remove the skins. Pass the potatoes through a food mill fitted with a medium-hole disk, or through a ricer, into a large mixing bowl.
3. Spread the all-purpose fl our on a clean, dry work surface. Place the potatoes on top of the fl our. Add the salt and egg. Use your hands to gather the ingredients together and gently knead the dough into a 10 by 8-inch log. Let rest for 2 minutes.
4. Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with rice fl our. Cut the log into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1-inch-thick rope. Cut each rope into ½-inch-wide gnocchi. Store the gnocchi on a rice flour–covered baking sheet until ready to use. Dust with rice flour.

Storage
The gnocchi can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. To prepare them for the freezer, place them, dusted with rice flour, in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place them one on top of the other in an airtight container. To thaw for cooking, place the gnocchi in a single layer on a baking sheet in the refrigerator for not more than 1 hour before cooking. Cook according to the recipe directions.

From Pasta Sfoglia, by Ron and Colleen Suhanosky, with Susan Simon. Photos by Ben Fink.

Click here for more delish V-Day recipes.
Click here to search the recipe finder.

-- Lauren Le Vine

See More: Food & Recipes , Valentine's Day