How do you make shop-bought gnocchi taste great?

A packet of gnocchi from the fridge or the shelf is one of the great weeknight shortcuts. Boiled and sauced like pasta, they can be a little soft and anonymous. Fried, they become something else: little golden pillows with a crisp shell and a tender centre, somewhere between a potato and a dumpling. It is the single best thing you can do for them, and it takes a pan you already own.

If you are making gnocchi from scratch and they keep turning out heavy, that is a different problem. This page is about the packet.

Pan-frying from the packet

Check the packet first: many brands list frying as one way to cook them, and in that case the pan only has to heat them through and give them colour.

• Use a wide pan so the gnocchi sit in a single layer with a little space around each one. Crowded gnocchi steam and stick together. Cook in two batches if you need to.
• Heat a good slick of oil, or oil with a knob of butter, over a medium-hot flame until it shimmers.
• Separate the gnocchi with your fingers as they go in, so they don't fry in clumps.
• Leave them alone. This is the hard part. Don't stir for a few minutes. Let them sit until the undersides are deep golden and release easily from the pan.
• Toss and repeat until they are golden on a couple of sides, puffed slightly and hot right through.

A pinch of salt at the end, and they are ready for a sauce or simply a bowl.

The steam-then-fry trick

If your gnocchi are very firm or you want an extra-soft centre, add a few spoonfuls of water to the pan with the gnocchi and put a lid on. Let them steam until the water has gone, then take the lid off, add oil and fry as above. The outside still crisps, the middle turns fluffier.

Quick sauces that suit them

Fried gnocchi have a crisp outside you want to keep, so sauces should be quick and fairly light, added at the end.

Brown butter and sage

Push the gnocchi to one side, add butter and sage leaves, let the butter foam and turn nut-brown and the sage go crisp, then toss everything together with Parmesan and black pepper. Our brown butter page has the cues.

Cherry tomatoes and mozzarella

Add halved cherry tomatoes to the golden gnocchi with garlic and chilli, toss until the tomatoes collapse and go jammy, then tear in mozzarella or burrata off the heat. Basil on top.

Greens and lemon

Throw in spinach, chopped kale or cavolo nero with a splash of water, toss until wilted, then finish with lemon zest, a squeeze of juice and plenty of Parmesan. Toasted pine nuts if you have them.

Pesto

Off the heat, toss with pesto loosened with a little water or oil. Peas or green beans in the pan first make it a full meal.

Tray-bake version

Toss gnocchi with oil, chunks of pepper, red onion, courgette and cherry tomatoes on a big tray and roast in a hot oven, turning once, until everything is golden and blistered. Crumble feta or goat's cheese over at the end.

Things that help

• Pat dry any gnocchi that look damp or sticky from the packet before frying.
• Don't add the sauce too early. Wet ingredients soften the crust.
• Season at the end, tasting first, because some packet gnocchi are already well salted.
• Use the right fat: olive oil for colour, a little butter at the end for flavour.