The post Recipe: Vegan Gnocchi appeared first on Vegan Hostess.
]]>Hello everyone,
This year for the holidays, I updated my vegan gnocchi recipe. I love Italian food, and gnocchi has been my favorite dish for years. I used to prepare it for my family using pre-made gnocchi and sauce, but not any more! I’ve mastered the hand rolled potato gnocchi of my dreams.
Gnocchi can seem intimidating, but I promise you it’s not. You can make as much or as little as you want, and the recipe uses a handful of household staple ingredients. I like to make a double batch and freeze half for a later date. You can’t even tell! This recipe freezes extremely well. I honestly can’t wait to make it again.
Check out the recipe below. Tell me, what’s your favorite pasta to make from scratch?
Mangia! Mangia!
Jocelyn
Ps – Here are some kitchen items which might come in handy that I personally use!
Vegan Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 8 small-medium Potatoes The higher in starch the better. I like russet.
- 1 1/3 cup All-purpose Flour Plus some extra.
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 jar Tomato Sauce
- Basil Fresh
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. While the water is heating up, peel the potatoes. Once boiling, add the potatoes and boil until they are soft (fork tender). Drain the potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes with a metal food masher, ricer, or other mashing tool. Add the salt and flour and knead the mixture until a smooth dough forms.
- Dump out the old water from boiling the potatoes, and bring a fresh pot of water to a boil.
- While the water is heating up starting rolling out your gnocchi on a lightly floured surface. I suggest splitting your dough into 6 sections and rolling them one-by-one into a rope. Aim for a rope about an inch wide, perhaps a little less. Cut small 1" gnocchi 'pillows' and set aside.
- Once you have your gnocchi 'pillows,' begin rolling them down the curved side of a fork or a gnocchi board. This will enable the sauce to better stick to the gnocchi and is the traditional style.
- Now is a good time to heat your marinera sauce with any additional herbs/ veggies on the stove. Cover with a lid, and let simmer.
- When the water is boiling, transfer the gnocchi. Do not overcook! The gnocchi should float to the surface fairly quickly depending on how many gnocchi you transfer at a time. Remove the gnocchi's with a skimmer as they float to the top to avoid any gnocchi from overcooking.
- Transfer to the saucepan. Combine the gnocchi, and marinera sauce.
- Plate your gnocchi dishes, and serve with vegan parmesan and garnish.
- Enjoy! Mangia! Mangia!
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]]>The post Recipe: Summer Pasta with Sautéed Eggplant & Zucchini appeared first on Vegan Hostess.
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Hello everyone,
This hearty pasta dish comes together in under 30 minutes, but it looks like it would take much longer! It’s quick and easy—warm and inviting. It’s simply the perfect dish for a post-work date night. What’s your favorite date night dish? Let me know!
Jocelyn
PS – Like this recipe? Check out my homemade gnocchi!
* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate and referral links. I may earn a commission or bonus if you click through to make a purchase. All opinions are my own. I only work with companies and brands I personally support.
Summer Pasta with Sautéed Eggplant & Zucchini
***Please feel free to share widely, just give me some credit or a link back
Prep Time: ~10 minutes; Cook Time: 15-20 minutes; Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 medium Japanese eggplants
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 pound dry pasta, whole wheat fusilli
- 6 cloves, garlic, finely minced
- 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
- 4 tablespoons Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme)
- 2 tbs, nutritional yeast
- red pepper flakes, to taste (I used 2 teaspoons)
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 3-4 basil leaves per dish, hand torn
- Follow Your Heart “parmesan,” garnish
- Daiya Mozzerella shreds, garnish
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Heat water in a large soup pot with a pinch of salt until boiling.
- While the water is coming to a boil, peel the eggplant and slice the zucchini and eggplant into small bite size pieces.
- Note, there is no need to salt/ weep the vegetables.
- Sauté the eggplant and zucchini in a sauce pan with extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until slightly tender and golden brown. Approximately 5 minutes.
- Mince the garlic, and add it to the sauce pan. Stir well.
- Add the pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper, to taste.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- When the water starts boiling, add the whole wheat fusilli pasta, and cook according to package instructions.
- Drain the pasta and reserve some liquid to help thin the sauce.
- Put the pasta back in the pot, add the reserved liquid and the sauce mixture.
- Garnish with fresh basil and your favorite vegan cheese.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
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]]>The post Recipe: Vegan Zucchini Roll Ups appeared first on Vegan Hostess.
]]>If you know me, you know that I love pasta, but sometimes I want something a little lighter with drastically less carbs. Spiralized carrot or zucchini is certainly on trend, but for whatever reason I simply want my noodles to taste like noodles. I can’t help it! Not to worry – there are many other healthy pasta alternatives, and my new favorite is a hearty helping of vegan zucchini roll ups.
This recipe includes all the flavor you seek in an Italian dinner, but no heavy pasta. You simply use finely sliced zucchini, sort of like a lasagna strip. The dish also includes my new favorite nut cheese which uses a mixture of pepitas, tofu, and Daiya mozzerella. It’s so, so good, and it’s much better for you than traditional ricotta cheese. Aside from the rich flavor, the best part of this recipe is that it has a quick cook time, and the “rolling” is actually quite fun.
I think this would be the perfect dish to make with your loved ones help! Please give it a try and let me know what you think!
Cheers and happy cooking!
Jocelyn
* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!
Vegan Zucchini Roll Ups
***Please feel free to share widely, just give me some credit or a link back
Prep Time: ~25 minutes; Cook Time: ~15-20 minutes; Yield: ~9×9 Pyrex
Cookware
- 10-Cup Food Processor
or blender
- Mandoline Slicer
or other vegetable slicer
- 9×9 Pyrex Glass Baking Dish
or metal baking pan
- 2 large kitchen towels
or blender
or other vegetable slicer
or metal baking panIngredients
- Primary
- 3 medium zucchini, finely sliced lengthwise
- 2-3 cups Classic Marinara Sauce
- ½ cup finely chopped carrot, cucumber, and zucchini into 1.5″ long sticks
- Nut “Cheese”
- 1 cup Pepitas (Raw/ unsalted)
- 1½ tbs. nutritional yeast
- 1 tbs. finely chopped fresh basil
- ½ tbs. oregano or other Italian seasoning
- ½ bag of Daiya mozzarella
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 12 oz. package of tofu (I used soft, but if you want a thicker “cheese,” you can use firm)
- 1 cup Pepitas (Raw/ unsalted)
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Slice zucchini using a mandoline Slicer
- Lay out zucchini strips on a large, clean kitchen towel. Salt the slices to draw out the moisture and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
- Slice your carrots, zucchini, and cucumber into 1.5″ sticks.
- In a food processor, pulse the pepitas and nutritional yeast until well mixed.
- Add in the tofu, basil, oregano, garlic, and Daiya, pulse until fully combined.
- Transfer the zucchini to a clean kitchen towel.
- Add 1 tablespoon dollops of filling to each slice and spread into an even, thin layer.
- Add 1 small stick of carrot, zucchini and cucumber, and roll up.
- Pour marinara sauce into a ~9×9 baking pan or pyrex dish, reserving at least a ½ cup.
- Add the roll-ups, spiral side up, and cover with a bit more sauce.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Garnish with vegan cheese, extra basil, and enjoy!
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]]>The post Recipe: Potato Gnocchi appeared first on Vegan Hostess.
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Hello everyone!
I’ve always loved Italian food. The smell of sauce cooking, the warm, filling qualities of the meals. ahhh… Pasta! Plus, I’m Italian, and I grew up eating pasta in all its forms. Since the fall, I’ve been trying to make various pastas from scratch, but one I was avoiding was gnocchi.
Why avoid gnocchi? Well, it’s hand down my favorite pasta and always has been. And I simply did not want to mess it up, or let myself down. Luckily, gnocchi is—dare I say—easy to make! And easy to make vegan!
Making gnocchi for the first time took me less than two hours, and it was absolutely scrumptious. It was probably the best gnocchi I’ve ever had. It was that good! The dough was pillowy, yet still dense enough to be chewy. The fork ‘rolling’ technique did the trick, and the pasta sauce stuck on the gnocchi in the best way.
I know spending a few hours making pasta isn’t feasible most nights of the week, but for that special occasion or on the weekend it’s well worth the effort! Give this simple three ingredient gnocchi recipe a try!
Mangia! Mangia!
Jocelyn
* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!
Potato Gnocchi
***Please feel free to share widely, just give me some credit or a link back.
Prep Time: 90 minutes; Cook Time: 2-3 minutes
Ingredients/ Shopping List:
- 8 small-medium potatoes (not red) or 4 large potatoes
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (plus some extra)
- 1 tsp. table salt
- Tomato Sauce
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese (I used Follow Your Heart)
- Fresh basil
Directions:
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
- While the water is heating up, peel the potatoes.
- Once boiling, add the potatoes and boil until they are soft (fork tender).
- Drain the potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Mash the potatoes with a metal food masher, ricer, or other mashing tool.
- Add the salt and flour and knead the mixture until a smooth dough forms.
- Dump out the old water from boiling the potatoes, and bring a fresh pot of water to a boil.
- While the water is heating up starting rolling out your gnocchi on a lightly floured surface.
- I suggest splitting your dough into 6 sections and rolling them one-by-one into a rope.
- Aim for a rope about an inch wide, perhaps a little less.
- Cut small 1″ gnocchi ‘pillows’ and set aside.
- Once you have your gnocchi ‘pillows,’ begin rolling them down the curved side of a fork. This will enable the sauce to better stick to the gnocchi and is the traditional style.
- Now is a good time to heat your marinera sauce with any additional herbs/ veggies on the stove.
- Cover with a lid, and let simmer.
- When the water is boiling, transfer the gnocchi.
- Do not overcook!
- The gnocchi should float to the surface after 90 sec. – 2 minutes.
- Remove the gnocchi’s with a skimmer as they float to the top to avoid any gnocchi from overcooking.
- Transfer to the saucepan.
- Combine the gnocchi, and marinera sauce.
- Plate your gnocchi dishes, and serve with vegan parmesan and garnish.
- Enjoy! Mangia! Mangia!
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]]>The post Recipe: Vegan Homemade Pasta Dough appeared first on Vegan Hostess.
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Hello everyone,
Over the holidays, my partner and I did a lot of binge watching. You can relate, right? One of our new favorite videos is Pasta Grannies on YouTube.
The premise is simple. A British woman goes around recording Italian grannies making pasta. So simple, yet so entirely addictive to watch!
I don’t have any memories of my grandparents making pasta from scratch from my childhood, but my mom does. She told me all about how her childhood Sundays were a full day of rolling out gnocchi and simmering sauce. I suppose watching Pasta Grannies is comforting and helps me feel more connected to my Italian side. Plus, I was happily surprised that many of the pasta recipes they used were vegan.
The recipes called for the simplest of ingredients, like water, salt, and some type of flour – the most common being semolina which is made from durum wheat. This makes it ideal for pasta as it will produce a sturdier pasta than general all-purpose flour.
Aside from the videos, the pasta stars aligned, as for the holidays I had also finally caved in and asked for the Kitchen Aid Mixer set of three pasta attachments. Carb-filled evenings, here I come!
I scoured the internet, reviewed a plethora of Pasta Grannies videos, and I came up with a simple, yet tasty vegan pasta recipe. Was it completely perfect out of the gate? No. But it makes a mean pasta with minimal effort. Besides requiring just a handful of basic ingredients, it takes just under 30 minutes to prepare.
What are you waiting for? Give it a shot!
Cheers & happy cooking!
Jocelyn
* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!
Click to view slideshow.
Homemade Vegan Pasta Dough
***Please feel free to share widely, just give me some credit or a link back.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: ~3 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2½ cups, semolina flour
- ½-1 cup, water
- 1 tbs, extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp, salt
- 1 tbs, freshly minced oregano
- 1 tbs, freshly minced basil
- Extra unbleached all-purpose flour to prevent sticking
Directions
- Place the flour, salt, herbs, and olive oil in your Kitchen Aid Mixer, food processor or simply use a
bowl. Then combine the ingredients at a low speed.
- Add water 1 tbsp at a time while the mixer is running or you are stirring with a fork.
- Keep adding water until you achieve a dough-like consistency.
- Note, you will need to work the dough for quite a few minutes. It should be smooth in texture and a bit sticky.
- Dust a clean surface with the all-purpose flour.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and set it on the floured surface.
- Cover the dough with a kitchen towel to rest for 10 minutes.
- Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough to a quarter inch.
- If using a KitchenAid pasta attachment, begin to put sections of the rolled dough through
the initial ‘flattening pasta attachment.’ - Then attach the spaghetti attachment, and collect small batches of spaghetti.
- If you do not have a KitchenAid pasta attachment, you can still make pasta!
- Roll the dough very thin (1/8 -1/10″) and cut small strips to make fettuccine.
- You could also make lasagna noodles by ensuring the dough is rolled into a long, rectangular shape before cutting the pasta.
- If using a KitchenAid pasta attachment, begin to put sections of the rolled dough through
- Place your pasta batches on a lightly floured surface and dust with more flour.
- You may want to hang the pasta on a nonstick drying rack to ensure the dough does not stick together.
- You may want to hang the pasta on a nonstick drying rack to ensure the dough does not stick together.
- Next, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add a small about of olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking.
- Add the fresh pasta, and cook for ~3 minutes if making spaghetti.
- Note, the cooking time may go up to 6 minutes if you make a larger type of pasta. Additionally, my family really likes al dente pasta!
- Finally, strain the water and cover with your favorite marinara sauce and fresh herbs.
- Enjoy immediately! (Please note, fresh pasta does not make for good leftovers!)
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