Gnocchi with mint, peas and 'bacon'
I'm back with a KILLER gnocchi recipe. You guys loved my last gnocchi recipe (gnocchi with asparagus) so I had to make another. This time I made a pesto out of slow fried courgette in lots of olive oil, blanched peas and mint. Then I topped the gnocchi of with in butter fried vegan bacon, onion and more fresh peas. Garnish with some vegan parmesan and some more mint and voila, the perfect summer dish. It’s fresh, it’s wholesome and delicious.
What is gnocchi?
If you’ve never had gnocchi before, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! Big time. Please, please, please fix this by making these gnocchi with peas and mint.
Gnocchi is essentially a kind of pasta but the dough is made from potatoes and flour. Sometimes eggs and or cheese are added, but since I share only plant based recipes I don’t use any of these. And yes you can make them without eggs or cheese without any problem for those wondering!
When gnocchi are made right, they are these soft pillows of goodness that just melt in your mouth. Usually I use store bought gnocchi, cause you know I’m lazy sometimes after working a full weekend at my restaurant. The brand I always use is ‘Rana’ but feel free to make them from scratch (I have a recipe for them in my cookbook ‘Vegetalia’) or another brand works just fine. Just make sure that, if you are vegan, they don’t contain eggs.
This recipe serves 4 people.
Ingredients
500 gr of gnocchi, see comment above for tips
1 large white onion, cut into half moons
1 pack of vegan bacon, I’m fan of the brand ‘vivera’ and I used half the pack for 4 people
vegan butter for frying, about 1-2 tbs per person
For the sauce
1 small courgette, cut into small cubes
50 ml of olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
small handful of flat leaf parsley, minced
200 g of frozen peas + extra for garnish
10 g of vegan parmesan, My favorite brand is ‘gondino’
1-2 branches of fresh mint, which is about 10 leaves. + extra for garnish
salt and pepper to taste
How to
Start by heating up the olive oil in a frying pan, add the courgette and fry on low heat for about 15-20 minutes until very soft.
Once the courgette is cooked, add the garlic and parsley and cook for another 2 minutes. Set aside too cool a little.
Bring a pot with salted water to a boil and blanch the frozen peas. Rinse with cold water after draining the peas. Set aside.
Bring a pot of boiling and salted water to a boil for the gnocchi.
Meanwhile add the fried zucchini with all of it’s oil, blanched peas, parmesan, mint, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend until a smooth and creamy pesto. Set aside. Quick tip, first add 5 leaves of mint and taste test to see if the pesto needs more. Mint can be very strong so don’t overuse.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, once hot add the onion and fry until soft and slightly caramelised. You may need to add a little water to prevent it from burning. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, once hot add the bacon and fry until crispy.
Add the onion and a handful of frozen peas for each person.
Fry until the peas are warm. Set aside.
Cook the gnocchi, once they come floating they are ready.
Add them to a sauce pan over medium heat with the pesto and a few spoons of the gnocchi water to thin the sauce out. It should not be a thick and sticky sauce.
Devide the gnocchi onto plates and top each plate with the fried bacon mixture.
Grate over some vegan parmesan and garnish with fresh mint leaves and black pepper.
Buon appetito!
