Day 2 - Gnocchi with zucchini in cream sauce

Today's lunch (according to menu):

The meal was rather abundant and is ideal when you are feeling really hungry, are in a rush or you want to feel fed for a longer while (and not find yourself devour the fridge one hour later).


GNOCCHI WITH ZUCCHINI IN CREAM SAUCE

Serves: 2

500 g  potato gnocchi
1 small onion
1 zucchini
2 cloves of garlic
250 ml of soy cream (for cooking)
salt and pepper
1 spoon of olive oil

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, then add the gnocchi, stir well and cook until the gnocchi show swimming on top of the water. Remove and drain.

Meanwhile, peel the onion and slice it thinly. Dice the zucchini and garlic cloves.
In a pan heat a spoon of olive oil. When the pan is really hot, place in the onion slices and fry well, stirring all the time. Then add the garlic, stir and add the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Fry for a few seconds, then add a sprinkle of water and steam the veggies. Stir occasionally. When done, add the soy cream, mix well and pour over your gnocchi. Season with red paprika on top.

make your own gnocchi:

Peel about 1 kg of potatoes (don't use young potatoes, search for those that have a thick skin), cut to larger chunks and put in a pot filled with salted water. Bring to boil and cook until the potatoes turn really soft. Drain, smash them and let them cool completely in a bowl (I usually cook the potatoes in the morning and by noon or afternoon make my gnocchi). The potatoes need to be really smashed, without any chunks.

When cooled, add 1 or 2 eggs, a pinch of salt and with a fork mix it well together. Then start adding flour and proceed to kneading by hand. You need to do this firmly and quickly, thus avoiding reheating the potatoes with your body warmth (your gnocchi will not be so firm). Add as much flour as needed to get a consistent and firm dough. The firmer, the better. Then, slice the dough in a few chunks and roll each chunk into a long dough roll (about 2 cm thick). Slice the roll into smaller pieces and top with flour to avoid sticking.

You can then cook your gnocchi, fry them, refrigerate for 1 day or freeze them for a later use (which I always do with the extra gnocchi).

Note that this recipe includes eggs (which is still fine by my rules). But I do believe you could actually make a vegan version of the gnocchi, by avoiding eggs and use some other binder like a commercial egg replacer or maybe just a few drops of soy cream / drink to add moisture.