Homemade Gnocchi with a Spicy Capsicum Sauce

I had a big craving for gnocchi last night. It’s one of my favourite comfort foods, but I don’t eat it that often. I refused to buy any store bought gnocchi. I just don’t understand why they need some many ingredients when I can make it with three. It’s acutally really easy to make. It does take little bit of time, especially if like me half of your potatoes are still hard when you try to grate them. I really have to invest in a potato ricer. But it was really fun to make, especially with someone you love. Marco helped me roll the gnocchi. They weren’t the perfect shape, but they taste the same in the end so that’s all that matters.

Gnocchi with a Spicy Capsicum Sauce (vegan, gluten free option, soy free, nut free)

To make the Gnocchi:

Ingredients:

600 g potatoes (unpeeled)

1 cup unbleached plain flour, more for rolling (use gluten free plain flour  if you prefer)

sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Bring a pot to the boil, then cook the whole potatoes for 20 minutes or until soft.

2. Rinse the potatoes with water and once they are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off.

3. Force the potato through a potato ricer/fine grater/fine mese sieve into another bowl, so that it comes out like almost puréed and without lumps.

4. Season the potato with salt and sift 1 cup of flour slowly into the bowl (you may not need all the flour).

5. Knead the gnocchi on a floury board for about 3 minutes and add more flour if you need.

6. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll into logs. Then use a knife to slice the logs into smaller pieces (enough for 1 gnocchi). If you have a gnocchi paddle, then roll the dough balls to form the gnocchi. Otherwise gently press the dough balls with a fork to leave some ridges or roll along the fork. For both methods check out this video to learn how to roll gnocchi.

7. In boiling salted water, drop the gnocchi into the water. Once the gnocchi rise to the top (should take a couple of minutes), continue to cook for  a further 2-4 minutes (depending on how large your gnocchi are). If in doubt then taste then to make sure they are not over or undercooked.

To make the Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 brown onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

500g whole tomatoes (about 4 large)

1/2 red capsicum, diced

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 large red chili

sea salt and black pepper to taste

couple of pinches of evaporated cane sugar (or raw sugar)

1 handful whole basil leaves

Method:

1. Bring a pot to the boil, then drop in the whole tomatoes. Boil for a couple of minutes, until the skin starts to break. Then remove immediately and drop into an ice water bath or cool down with running water into a strainer. Peel the skin from the tomatoes and dice.

2. Heat a pot on medium heat with olive oil, then add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.

3. Add the red capsicum saute for a few more minutes.

4. Then add the diced tomatoes, white wine, and whole red chilli. Bring to the boil, then leave on a simmer for 20-30 minutes. While its cooking season with sea salt and black pepper and balance with sugar.

5. Place the sauce into a Vitamix or high speed blender. Remove the chilli if you don’t want it too hot or leave it in. Blend till its smooth.

6. Return to the pot and add the basil leaves. Cook until the basil leaves have wilted and the sauce is warm. Then serve with the gnocchi.

*3 big serves or 4 entree size

Roasted Cauliflower, Beets, Capsicum and Chickpeas with Tahini Sumac Dressing

As promised another recipe with cauliflower. I just love roasted cauliflower. It doesn’t have that bitter flavor that steamed cauliflower has. I usually make roasted vegetables with potatoes, pumpkins and other root vegetables. But this variation was really nice change and the dressing gave it a bit more zing.

Roasted Cauliflower, Beets, Capsicum and Chickpeas with Tahini Sumac Dressing (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 large beetroot, sliced

1/2 large cauliflower, chopped

1 red capsicum, sliced

1 tin chickpeas

handful of italian parsley, chopped

sea salt & black pepper to taste

Ingredients for Tahini Sumac Sauce:

1 whole garlic head

3 tablespoons unhulled tahini

2 tablespoons lemon

handful of italian parsley

1 teaspoon sumac

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Place beetroot in a baking dish and toss with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until tender.

3. Add cauliflower, capsicum and whole garlic, drizzle with more olive oil. Bake for a further 20 minutes or until the vegetables have cooked. Remove the whole garlic once it has softened.

4. In the meantime add all the ingredients to the blender. Also peel roasted garlic and add to the process and blend.

5. Add a tin of chickpeas to the baking dish and cook vegetables for a further few minutes, then remove from the oven.

6. Toss the vegetables with the dressing, parsley and season with sea salt & black pepper before serving.

*Serves 4 as a side dish.

On the side I made Syndian Asian Bean and Kumera Patties. This was the first Syndian product that I have tried and it wasn’t too bad. It really tasted homemade, which is probably because it had all real ingredients in it. The only thing that it needed was a sauce, as I found it was a little dry, but otherwise not to bad.

Calm after the storm

After torrential rain and gail force winds last night we finally got some calm weather today. So today we had to focus on cleaning the mess from the storm. Mum was drying the leaks  and sweeping the water away. Marco was vacuuming up Albie’s hair from all over the house, after his sleepover inside. And I tried to cook up all the left overs in our fridge and went shopping for  more supplies. I’m not so good at the cleaning, but I like to make sure we are eating well in this stressful time. We also got a student at 2 am  this morning. I am really surprised she made it here with the storm and the road closures. I’m even more surprised there were taxi’s working last night. Although the rain stopped this afternoon, we still have to worry about the  flood tonight, now the dam’s are being released. We are hoping that our suburb isn’t going to flood, since we are so close to the river. Our house will be safe, but I’m hoping we don’t loose power.

These are some of the things I made up today out of the leftovers:

Salad: red onion, tomato, grated carrot, baby spinach, rocket, chickpeas and a Sweet Garlic Mayo

For lunch I made salad  for everyone, as we had so many pre-cut ingredients, that my mum brought home from her work. I also had the tiniest bit of silken tofu leftover in the fridge, so I tried to make a homemade vegan mayo. This mayo only made enough dressing for 3 salads. So I will try to make up a bigger batch next time.

Sweet Garlic Mayo (vegan, gluten free)

Ingredients:

100g silken tofu

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon brown rice syrup

1 tablespoon parsley

1 tablespoon ground pecans (optional)

sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in the processor and pulse until all is combined.

*Makes about 1/2 cup.

After lunch I made this pesto to keep in the fridge as a condiment or to dress pasta. We had so much basil in the fridge that was starting to go bad and a jar of artichokes that I had started and forgot about. These ingredients went really well together. I had it as an afternoon snack with the left over Spelt Buttery Biscuits. I kept offering it to Marco to have on toast, but he’s not to excited about it.

Basil & Artichoke Pesto (vegan, gluten free, soy free)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pine nuts

1.5-2 cups basil leaves

3 garlic cloves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

6-8 artichokes from jar

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

1/2-1 teaspoon herbamare/sea salt

Method:

1. Place pine nuts in the processor and whiz till they are broken down and start to form a paste.

2. Then add the rest of the ingredients, one by one, as the processor is whizzing, until it is all combined and creamy.

* Place in an airtight jar or container and top with a bit more olive oil so that it last longer.

Even though we had the leftover the Spicy Peanut Stew with Sweet Potatoes and Eggplant with steamed rice and Achar de legumes (Ted’s Mauritian pickled vegetables) for dinner, I wanted to use up the rest of the ingredients that were on their last legs in my fridge. So I made this sauce so I can put together a quick meal tomorrow night.

Eggplant & Capsicum Pasta Sauce (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

1.5 cup diced red onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, diced

1 medium eggplant, chopped

1 large red capsicum, chopped

1 cup grated/diced carrot

1 cup fresh diced tomato

2x 500ml jars passata sauce

500ml filtered water

sea salt, black pepper & raw sugar to taste

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Method:

1. Take a large pot and heat olive oil, then add the red onion and garlic. Saute for 3 mins on medium heat.

2. Add the eggplant and red capscium and saute for a further 5 mins. Add more olive oil if the eggplant is too dry.

3. Add the carrot and tomato and cook for saute for 2 more mins.

4. Add the passata sauce and water and bring to the boil.

5. Then place on a simmer. Adjust seasoning, by adding salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Add basil and continue to cook for 1-2 hours (the longer the better).

* Serve with pasta or if not using today let the pot cool (so it doesn’t go bitter) then store in the fridge for later use.

One last thing I prepared tonight, which I am looking forward to tomorrow is my Apple Pie Over Night Oats. This is my first time making them, so curious how they are going to turn out. I made a container each for me and Marco. It really is a convenient breakfast that you can prepare the night before if you are in a rush, like Marco will be, in the morning. I will post the recipe tomorrow and tell you how it turned out.

Curried Millet Cakes with Red Pepper Coriander Sauce & Mujadara

I finally received my copy Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook this week, but tonight was the first night I have had a chance to cook from it. If you have been living in a cave and haven’t heard of the documentary Forks Over Knives I really recommend that you check it out. I saw it last year and I was blown away. Its like the bible, once you have seen the light you just want to share it with everyone you know. I try to make everyone who will listen to me watch it. It has also had a great impact on lots of celebrities as well. I guess the great thing about this documentary is that the two main cast members are actually scientists, who were both brought up on dairy farms and have spent their lives researching health, food and cancers. To get the info straight from the people who are in the industry and know first hand the effects that food have on our bodies is amazing.

One of my inspirations to pursue a vegan lifestyle came from the knowledge I got from this film. However, since I watched it I was curious how I could make the kind of foods that they speak about. One of the hardest things for me to cut down on is my oil. I love extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil and avocado oil. Many nutritionist say we need these good oils, but that is one thing that is a big different in what these guys preach. So tonight I tried to cook for the first time without oil. Instead of oil to brown my onions I used water. I thought they would be really watery, but actually they still browned and became sweet. So really it was not a big problem. Maybe the taste would of been a bit different, but it wasn’t noticeable. Any reason to cut down my fat intake at dinner, so I can indulge for dessert sounds good to me.

Roasting capsicums on the stove

The millet cakes and sauce were not what I expected and look very different to the picture in the book. It was only my second time cooking with millet before. The last time I tried to make

After roasting capsicums

macrobiotic ‘mash potato’, using cauliflower instead of potato. It wasn’t bad for me, but wasn’t a hit with Marco. I think the millet cakes really need the sauce. Alone sauce is bland and the millet cakes are extreme, but together they really fit. Today was also the first time I’ve ever roasted my own capsicums on the gas stove. I know it not complicated, but cooking with fire has always freaked me out. It is also a lot quicker then roasting them for 40 mins. I think it only took me 10-15 mins to do them. It is really simple. Just place the capsicum on the flame and rotate them so all the skin becomes black, then peal the skin off once they have cooked down. My boyfriend’s Serbian mother, who has prepared many a paprika’s in her time, gave me some tips. She said its better to place the capsicums in a covered pot, so that the blacken skin will peel away easier. For the Mujadara, I used the rest of my French Lentils, even though the recipe called for green lentils. I also used some curry powder and a lot of extra salt as I found it a bit bland. I think its a great base recipe the could be improved with some more herbs and spices. I think it also needs more rice, as the recipe only called for 3/4 cup of rice. I found that there wasn’t enough rice to lentils, so next time I will add more. Mujadara is a popular recipe in the Middle East and different cultures use different ingredients to flavour it. Such as cumin, coriander or mint,  fried onions, melted butter, and served hot or cold, often with yogurt.

Curried Millet Cakes (gf, nf)

Ingredients: 3 cups vegetable stock, 1 cup millet, 1 yellow onion diced, 4 cloves garlic diced, 1 tbsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp white miso dissolved in 1/4 cup water (i forgot the water), 2 tbsp tomato puree (I used paste), 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, salt to taste.

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Bring vegetable stock to boil, then add the millet. Cook for 20 mins, so that it millet is tender.

3. Sauté onion in a large pan for 7-8 mins, adding water so it doesn’t stick.

4. Add garlic, curry powder, pepper flakes, and cook for 1 min.

5. Take off heat then add miso, tomato paste and nutritional yeast. Then mix in the millet.

6. Take 2 baking trays with baking paper and place millet mixture in the form of a pattie (about 12). Then bake in the oven for 15 mins

Red Pepper Coriander Sauce (gf, nf)

Ingredients- packet of extra firm silken tofu, 2 large roasted capsicums, 3 cloves garlic chopped, 1/4 cup coriander, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, 1 lime juiced and zested.

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor. (I used a bar mix, so I had to add a bit of water and it still wasn’t as runny).

2. Heat in a small pot before added to the millet cakes.

Mujadara (Lentils with Rice and Caramelized Onions) (gf, sf, nf)

Ingredients- 1 1/2 green lentils (I used French Lentils), 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground all spice, 3/4 brown basmati rice (I used white organic medium grain- but basmati would be better), 3 large yellow onions diced, salt and pepper, I added: 4 cloves of garlic diced, 1 tbsp curry powder.

1. Bring to the boil the lentils with 5 cups of water and then cook on a simmer for 30 mins.

2. Add cinnamon and all spice and continue to cook for 15-20 mins more.

3. Cook rice on the stove or in a rice cooker.

3. In a large fry pan, saute onions and garlic for 10mins on a high heat. Adding water so it doesn’t stick. Add curry powder, then cook for a further 10 mins on a medium heat.

4. Once onions are brown, add lentils and rice, salt and pepper.