I don’t know about your family, but in my family a good recipe that is newly found is shared very quickly.
My aunty shared this recipe with my mum and then my mum shared it with me and whilst I have added more vegetables to the original version, it is now one of those recipes that it is our fortnightly “top ten”. From what I understand there are quite a few extended family members who also cook it on a regular basis.
It is now one of those recipes that is a regular fortnightly “top ten” dinner choice.
There is one very simple reason that it makes a regular appearance on our menu- it is really tasty and healthy and most certainly hits the spot for flavour.
I love it for a quick Friday night meal instead of takeaway especially when I am keen to keep meals as healthy as possible.
I have added a Mediterranean diet slant to this recipe as it remains my favourite diet for overall health. Lots of healthy olive oil, vegetables and basil, Italian herbs, chilli and parmesan make it a vegetarian or vegan meal that is tough to beat.
I make a vegan version and either use a vegan pesto or I add a vegan parmesan cheese. My favourite is Green vie grated parmesan which I buy from a vegan store in Glebe.
I also buy a vegan and gluten free brand of gnocchi from a local health store and you don’t need to boil the gnocchi first, you just throw them in with all the vegetables and bake. So easy.
I hope you enjoy as much as I do.
Ingredients
- 500g vegan gluten free Gnocchi or traditional gnocchi
- 1 ½ cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 zucchinis’, roughly chopped
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 red capsicum, cut in strips
- A few handfuls of baby spinach leaves (for serving)
- 3 tablespoons of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced or crushed
- 1 tsp Italian herbs
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- Handful of fresh basil leaves, shredded or a heaped tablespoon of basil pesto sauce
- 2 tablespoons of vegan parmesan cheese (Green vie grated vegan parmesan cheese is my favourite) or standard grated parmesan
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200°C.
Line a large roasting tray with baking paper.
Mix your olive oil and garlic in a bowl and set aside.
Combine your vegetables in a bowl and mix and spread the vegetable mix on the large lined baking tray.
Now evenly distribute gnocchi onto the tray.
Drizzle the olive oil and garlic mix evenly over the ingredients and mix gently.
Sprinkle your Italian herbs and chilli flakes and gently mix throughout ensuring that ingredients are spread evenly over the tray.
Bake for half an hour and then mix the mixture before returning to oven for a further 30 minutes or until the gnocchi is cooked and the vegetables looked a little caramelized.
Take out of the oven and stir through baby spinach leaves, basil leaves or pesto and sprinkle your choice of parmesan all over the mix.
Serve in bowls and add more parmesan and basil if required depending on taste.
This serves 2-4 depending on hunger! I always have left overs for lunch the next day.
