One Dish, Three Ways: Easy Vegan Cauliflower Gnocchi
If you want a versatile vegetable, you can’t beat cauliflower, says Lucy Tweed, food and recipe writer, food stylist and the woman behind the beloved Instagram account, Every Night of the Week.
“You can use it in pizza bases, you can make a mash, or use it to make a creamy soup without adding cream,” she says. Or you can use it to make these cauliflower gnocchi, which give a classic comfort food a light-and-easy makeover.
The gnocchi recipe, found in Lucy’s new cookbook, also called Every Night of the Week, is suitable for vegans, if you leave out the suggested butter and parmesan topping that gives the dish an oozing richness. For true vegans or those avoiding dairy, Lucy offers three different workarounds.
“It also works really well if you pan-fry instead of blanching,” Lucy says. “Put a slick of olive oil on the bottom, throw the gnocchi in in a single layer, allow to cook until they start sizzling and then pop in half a cup of water and put the lid on, so you’re frying them on the bottom, steaming them on the top.
“Top with crushed walnut with a bit of garlic, lemon thyme, olive oil and lemon zest, like a pangrattato without bread, which will give you a lovely richness.
“Or you could do it like a Roman gnocchi. Put a nice tomato passata, some lovely crisp garlic and basil into the bottom of an oil-lined ceramic dish, then stack up the discs of gnocchi and bake them so the top rounds become chewy.”
Cauliflower gnocchi
Serves 6
1 head of cauliflower, cut into baby florets
1¾ cups (260g) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt
50g (1¾ oz) butter
4 sprigs thyme
baby fist of grated parmesan
Optional ingredients
I’m going to say plates because it’s almost impossible not to eat this straight from the pan!
Steam the cauliflower until tender. Cool, then squeeze out the excess water. (I roll mine in a fresh tea towel like a sausage, stand in the shower over the drain, hold one end down with my foot and twist the other with my hand. Sure, an excessive move, but it works. Also great for quick drying cozzies!). Finely blitz the cauliflower, add flour and oil and blitz again.
Don’t worry if you think it’s too gluey. Knead it for a few minutes and you’ll see it isn’t. Roll into long lengths and cut into pointy slugs. Drop them into salted boiling water and scoop them out as soon as they float to the top.
Now perform some bubbling magic with them. Heat the butter, thyme and parmy in a fry pan over high heat. As soon as it’s bubbling, add the gnocchi, reduce heat to medium and let it get crispy and delicious underneath.
Wait until crunchy and enjoy.