Recipe- Vegan And Gluten Free Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto With Vegan Gnocchi

Vegan and gluten-free cauliflower gnocchi tossed in homemade sun-dried tomato pesto sauce is a very quick and delicious meatless weeknight meal! When it comes to Italian food, I love white sauce pasta and pesto pasta. Experimenting with pasta sauces is my favorite thing to do.

Ingredients

To make the pesto sauce

4 lettuce leaves
12 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 oz sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup vegan parmesan
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp tahini or miso paste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

To prep the gnocchi

16 oz gnocchi
1/2 tbsp olive oil

To prepare the pesto pasta

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup green peas and edamame mixed
salt
2 tbsp cilantro

Method

To make the pesto sauce

- Grill lettuce leaves along with garlic. Also, lightly toast the pine nuts. This will give the pesto a nice aromatic smoky flavor. You can also use them raw.
- Transfer the grilled lettuce leaves to a food processor.
- Then add the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Add the toasted pine nuts and grilled garlic cloves to the food processor.
- Now add the vegan parmesan, red pepper flakes, tahini, salt, and pepper.
- Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and blitz to make a creamy pesto.
- Transfer to a bowl and use as needed. Store the remaining in the fridge or freezer and use as needed.

To prep the gnocchi

- Boil water and add salt. Then drop in the gnocchi and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Once the gnocchi begins to float, strain it. Do not overcook.
- Transfer the cooked gnocchi to a plate and let it dry completely. You can use gnocchi at this stage to make your pesto pasta. However, if you saute it a bit, it will give it an additional flavor and texture.
- Now, pan-fry gnocchi in olive oil till they brown a bit on all sides. Transfer to a plate.

To prepare the pesto pasta

- Heat olive oil in the same pan and fry green peas and edamame. Fry for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
- Then add 1/2 cup of lettuce pesto to the pan. Mix and saute for a minute.
- Next add the fried gnocchi to the pan and mix. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Adjust the seasonings as needed. Garnish with chopped cilantro and take it off the flame.
- Garnish with some vegan parmesan. Serve Gnocchi al Pesto with some garlic bread on the side or Parmesan Bread Fries.