Vegan Gnocchi with Arugula. A simple dish that’s perfect for making ahead for lunch! I seriously love meals like this, absolutely packed with flavour, but so convenient. I love to make a big batch of this and keep it for a few days to send to work with Ben for lunches!
Weeks like this are the perfect weeks for batch meals. For the last couple of weeks we’ve been pretty hole’d up coding (because we’re geeks), so batch cooking has been all I’ve been capable of. I couldn’t face cooking a different dinner every night, but I still wanted good food. I actually don’t mind eating the same thing for a few days if it’s delicious, which this certainly is.
Making gnocchi vegan is actually surprisingly easy. The egg can just be left out entirely, and the amount of flour reduced. The end result tastes the same to me, and it adds a nice bulk to a meal, making a change from rice or pasta. It’s then drenched in the most delicious, rocket (arugula to my American friends) and basil pesto, which has a nice punch from spring onion and lemon juice. Toss it up with some beans for protein, some peas for greens and sun dried tomatoes for a nice saltiness and there you go, lunch is ready.
Ben’s been in France for the last couple of days, and let me just say eating in France as a vegan when you don’t have time to plan is a NIGHTMARE. I think he’s been living off crisps and fruit! When I sent him a picture of this gnocchi letting him know that it would be his lunch for the next couple of days, he cheered up significantly haha!
Have you ever tried making vegan gnocchi? It’s a super fun, easy thing to try as it’s not much of an exact science. Here’s to delicious summertime lunches!
| Servings |
people |
- 250 g Potato mashed
- 120 g All Purpose Flour
- 50 g Arugula (Rocket)
- 10 g Fresh Basil Leaves
- 1 Spring Onion
- 1.5 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 can White Beans
- 4-5 Sundried Tomatoes
- handful Green Peas
Ingredients
| |
- Cook the potato either by peeling and boiling it, or baking it in the oven and then scraping out the flesh. Mash the potato thoroughly and set aside to cool down.
- Put the arugula, fresh basil, spring onion, lemon juice and olive oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and season.
- To make the gnocchi, add about half the flour to the potato and work it in until completely absorbed. Continue to add the flour in small parts until you have a dough that holds together but is not sticky. You may need a little more or a little less flour, so it's best to do this in small increments.
- Take sections of the dough and roll into a long sausage about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut this into 1/2 inch pieces. You can just boil them like this, but I like to roll them into a little ball and then roll the ball down the back of a fork. This creates little ridges on the gnocchi which helps it catch more sauce. This step is by no means necessary, and it's certainly not a matter of it being perfect!
- Boil a large pot of water and add the gnocchi in 2 batches. It will take 2-3 minutes to cook, but as soon as a piece is ready it will float to the top. I scoop out any floating pieces with a small seive as soon as they are ready.
- Once the gnocchi is cooked, heat a little olive oil in a large skillet. Add the gnocchi and fry for a few minutes until it starts to turn golden brown on the edges. At this point, reduce the heat, and all the other ingredients and a few spoons of the pesto. Heat until everything is warm through. Add a few more arugula leaves if desired.
Can be eaten hot straight away, or stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, and eaten cold.
About Lauren Caris
Lauren is the author and chef of the vegan food blog, Lauren Caris Cooks. She is passionate about showing people just how awesome vegan food can be with simple, delicious recipes and vegan lifestyle tips.
Where do the beans go?
What a great tip to roll the gnocci down the fork rather than totally smashing them with the fork. I’ve been doing it wrong my whole life!! These look gorgeous and delicious, and may just have to be on our meal plan for the week.
Thanks Stephanie! Yeah rolling is down the fork is so easy! I might do a video tutorial on it some time, but I love gnocchi because it really doesn’t matter how it looks :D