Potato gnocchi with aubergine and fresh tomato

‘Chicche’ are a type of delicious, small potato gnocchi which are quite irresistible and which you can mix with any sauce of your choice: meat and tomato-based sauces are ideal, but so are sauces made with cheese or mixed greens. Today we felt like something rather light to tell the truth, so we hit upon the idea of making pasta sauce with aubergine, but keeping it as light as possible. The result was a cheerful dish of sautéed aubergine flavoured with plenty of aromatic fresh tomatoes. How can you resist? If you like you can use a clove of garlic to flavour the oil, otherwise simply add tomato and basil. Or alternatively, if there are children eating, you can make it even more delicious by adding some diced, fresh mozzarella - the heat of the pasta will make it all stringy and extremely good fun!

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for about ten seconds, then drain, peel, remove their seeds and cut into strips. Separately, chop the aubergine into cubes and place in a colander with a pinch of salt in order to purge it of any bitter juices. Then take a pan and sauté a clove of garlic in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Remove the garlic, then add the aubergine. Add some salt and fry, stirring frequently, until cooked. Then add the fresh tomatoes and cook until they are just warmed through. Separately, cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water; when they come to the surface they’re ready. Mix them with the sauce, add a sprinkling of pepper (if you like), and serve.