Baked Vegan Gnocchi with Bolognese Sauce

Vegan Gnocchi

Prep Time: 50 mins

Cooking Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (284g) all purpose flour (or more as needed)
1 lb 4 oz (535g) baked and peeled russet potatoes (4 1/2 cups riced, unpacked)
1 tsp (5g) salt
2 tbsp (20g) olive oil

Cooking Instructions

Take the peeled, cooked and cooled potatoes and cut them into sections. Using one section at a time, press them through a potato ricer. Alternatively, mash them well so that no lumps remain.
In a large bowl, add the mashed potato, salt, olive oil, and flour and using clean hands mix the ingredients together and then squeeze to gently knead it into a cohesive ball. If the mixture is sticky, add flour until it no longer sticks to your hand. If you can’t get the flour to fully absorb and mix into the potatoes, add a little extra olive oil until it comes together. The key is to not have a wet and sticky dough so that it’s easy to work with and eventually form into little dumplings.
Keeping the dough covered so it doesn’t dry out, take a small section at a time to form into the gnocchi. Take a 1 tsp (around 6g) piece of dough and squeeze it in your fist to make a compact and roughly shaped ball, then roll it between your palms to make it round.
For the traditional gnocchi shape with the grooves on one side, place a fork sitting face down on the counter and take the ball and place it at the top of the backside of the tines of the fork. With your thumb on the piece of dough, slide the gnocchi down the tines of the fork until you reach the counter. The gnocchi will turn under your thumb until it has grooves going around about 3/4 of the dough and a small inset divot where your thumb was.
Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. If the dough becomes sticky at any point, toss shaped gnocchi with flour so they don’t stick together and knead a bit of extra flour into the remaining unshaped dough.
To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add half the gnocchi to the pot and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes, or until the gnocchi floats to the top and have it cooked an additional minute at the top. Remove the cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon and then cook the second batch of gnocchi.
Cooked gnocchi is now ready to be used in the recipe.

Vegan Lentil Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

2 medium-size carrots, finely diced
1 medium-size brown onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano, or to taste
2 teaspoons dried thyme, or to taste
400 g (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes
400 g (14 oz) canned brown lentils, drained
½ cup (60g) walnuts, any type of nut or seeds, finely chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, sugar or coconut sugar, to taste
1 tablespoon miso paste, optional
extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1 ½ cups (360g) vegetable broth (stock), or water, as needed
500g gnocchi, uncooked
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Instructions

Add the carrot, onion, garlic and oil to a large saucepan over high heat. Saute for 5 minutes or until the ingredients are fragrant.
Add the herbs and nuts and saute for 1 minute or until fragrant. If any ingredients are sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, add a generous dash of vegetable stock/water and stir often.
Add the lentils, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and miso paste. Cook for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the gnocchi and around 1 cup of vegetable stock/water. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the gnocchi is tender. Add more vegetable stock if needed.
Season the Bolognese sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Vegan Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients

¼ cup (30g) all-purpose plain flour, or gluten-free flour blend
1 cup (250g) soy milk, or other dairy free milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, to taste
2 tablespoons (30g) extra virgin olive oil, vegan butter, or water
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Add the oil/butter, flour and a dash of milk to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and whisk continuously for 2-5 minutes until a thick paste forms.
Add all of the remaining milk and nutritional yeast. Vigorously whisk the mixture to disperse the paste. After around 5 minutes, the mixture should thicken into a sauce consistency.
Season the bechamel sauce to taste. If any lumps are remaining, whisk vigorously or blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

Assembling the Vegan Gnocchi bake:

Scoop the gnocchi and Bolognese sauce into a large casserole dish. Drizzle or pour the Bechamel sauce on top.
Bake the gnocchi for 10-15 minutes or until the surface is slightly golden brown.
Serve the baked gnocchi hot or warm with vegan parmesan on top and with salad or vegetables!