Puttanesca sauce with gnocchi

This is a personal favorite because of the story behind the name and that it combines three of my all time highly desirable ingredients: Anchovies, olives and capers. Puttanesca sauce was cooked in bordellos to attract clientele. The idea being - the more pungent the sauce the stronger the smell as it wafts down the stairs, out the red door into the streets. At the end of the night, customers were fed this salty and tasty sauce to encourage thirst for more drink more. It's all about the entire experience.

Serves 4

4-5 fillets of anchovies, diced

1/2 onion

1 red pepper, diced - I also added 1/4 leftover green pepper

3 cloves of garlic, diced

1 1/2 cans of diced tomatoes

1-2 tbsp water

1/2 cups halved kalamata olives

1 1/2 tbsp capers

Salt and pepper to taste

1 packet frozen gnocchi

1. Heat 1-2 tbsps olive oil in pan and cook anchovies over medium high heat until it completely dissipates. Use a screen if necessary, the sputtering can make a mess. Now add garlic, onions and diced peppers. Saute until onions are lightly browned. You might want to add a bit of water here to avoid excessive browning. Add tomatoes and salt (if necessary - don't forget anchovies add quite a bit of salt to begin with. So taste before you add more salt). Simmer for 10 mins until tomatoes are cooked. Add olives and capers 5 mins after adding the tomatoes.
2. While tomatoes are simmering, dunk the frozen gnocchi in salted boiling water for 4-5mins. This will start the cooking process. Take it out of the water and add it to the simmering sauce to complete the cooking process. This will ensure that the gnocchi absorbs the sauce and is evenly coated with it.
3. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.