Easy Vegan Gnocchi in Pesto Sauce

Easy, 7-ingredient vegan gnocchi, prepared in pesto sauce. This is a perfect recipe for mid-week meal preparation on lazy days!

THE BACKSTORY OF THIS RECIPE

You know, carbs are at the very centre of Italian food. And homemade food too, in general, ofcourse.

I grew up with my mother making everything from scratch, so this is something that I take with me as a very deep meaning of love. Nothing tastes like homemade. Loving, delicious and healthier.

I love gnocchi, those little potato balls that are so easy to make but need a bit of preparation and not everyone might have the time!

So if you want to enjoy something similar and surprise your loved ones, I urge you to read this recipe and to find out how to make these gnocchi that requires no cooking at all. Well, almost. *wink*

INGREDIENTS FOR PREPARING GNOCCHI

For 2 portion you will need:

• 200gr of wholegrain couscous (alternative given below)
• 70 gr of basil leaves
• 150 gr of green peas
• 40gr of olive oil
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (alternative given below)
• Sun dried tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste

SUBSTITUTES

You can use any type of cous cous, gluten free too. If you cannot find cous cous or you don’t like it, you could use white risotto rice instead.

As for nutritional yeast, I love to use it for its cheesy taste. But you can easily substitute it with pumpkin or sunflower seeds roughly blended with some salt and garlic powder. That would work a treat too!

RECIPE PROCEDURE FOR GNOCCHI

• Cook couscous according to packet instructions.
  Normally it would be 1 portion of cous cous to 2 portions of water.

• Add some salt and let it fluff.

• Then, wash the basil and prepare the peas for the sauce.
  
  NOTE: I don’t normally cook peas if I am making a sauce out of it. I would just pour boiling water on them and let them sit for a while until they are a bit softer. But you can cook them, if you’d like. So up to you. It does save you time and pots to wash!

• Once the couscous is lukewarm, start mashing it together with your hands. You should create a play dough texture. You can work in smaller batch if it’s easier for you.

• Roll the dough in between your hands and make little sausages. With a knife, cut small pieces of around 2 cm and place in a plate previously oiled. This will avoid the gnocchi sticking to the plate.

• Now make your sauce by simply blending the basil leaves and the peas together with nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and 1 cup of boiling water.

• Optional : feel also free to add a garlic clove, if you like it.

• Now, we’re ready to assemble the dish and to warm it up!
  In a pan, add the sauce, the gnocchi and the sun-dried tomatoes cut into thin strips.

• Let it simmer for 5 minutes, add more hot water if you want a creamier sauce and the dish is ready!

Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with some extra sundried tomatoes, nutritional yeast and basil leaves, to add that extra zing.

And in less than 30 mins you can eat a healthy, nutritious meal that will be also fun to make. Who doesn’t like playing with play-dough?

I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as much as I have enjoyed making it.

You may also enjoy another easy, high-protein recipe, the Vegan Blondie.

Sending love to all beings,

Annalisa ❤️