Homemade gnocchi with peas, mint and bacon
Ingredients
For the fresh gnocchi (you can also use storebought)
500 gr of cooked floury potatoes, riced
280 gr of 00 flour
pinch of salt
For the bacon topping
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
(optional) 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
Instructions
Combine riced, cooked potatoes with the flour and salt.
Kneed until a uniform dough forms.
Roll the dough into long sausages of 2 cm thick and cut the sausages into chunks.
You can go ahead and use a gnocchi board or fork to shape the gnocchi or leave them rustic like this. I prefer the rustic version. Set aside until it’s time to cook them.
Heat 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!
