February 19, 2018
Oh goodness... I had thought that when nutritional yeast entered my culinary world, I might die and go to heaven.
Then came aquafaba.
And now?
Well, good news #1, there is no Heaven to aspire to, as when you love what you do, and do what you love, it's within Heaven that you reside- indeed, I do. ;)
A pinch of soul talk, and moving right along to soul food:
Gnocchi
You've eaten it, surely, but have you ever made it..?
Talk about love, (which happens to be my most favourite conversation- talking about all encompassing, unconditional, universal love-), and gnocchi -and food in general- falls right under that category.
Well, pasta does, doesn't it?
It's so simple and wonderful and delicious, but then you go and make your own and share it with others, who are in joy with your heart work..That's my job.
I have made tortellini before, which I thoroughly loved and then forgot all about, so this gnocchi has rekindled my love, and off I go.
Wheat gets such a bad rap, and referring to it as simply "gluten," is akin to calling a black person the "n" word. A no go.
I defend wheat, I do.
I sprout it. I watch it grow from a hard seed to having a tail, and roots.
I have, in the past, sprouted it, dried it and made my own flour.
More recently, I've taken to fermenting the good grain.
It's truly so versatile, and really spectacular stuff.
Now that I've gotten over my self-proclaimed resistance to wheat, my culinary world has opened up immensely.
Be not afraid of this age old food, and all the hype around it - but do ask yourself questions about it, and do your own research. See all sides, and choose with your heart and intuition what is best for you.
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Here's the recipe, by the lovely Hannah over at Housevegan.com.
I changed mine a little by adding a medium potato, one flax "egg" (tablespoon of crushed flax seeds, added to three tablespoons of warm water, which thickens in a few minutes), and nutmeg.
After boiling, I heated up some olive oil in a pan with chili and dried sage, which most of the gnocchi went through, keeping some plain ones aside for the lil one (who took quite a liking to the chili version after all).
I presented and served with a squeeze of lemon and a dusting of nutritonal yeast, parmesan for the fam, (and my plantbased parmesan for me), alongside rukola salad, full of my usual goodness.
(Salad - Rukola, shaved carrots, olive oil, balsamico, crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, parsley, sprouted lentils, toasted sunflower seeds and raisins. Serious goodness, and well worth all the prep).
Things to consider: This is a fairly lengthy process, considering first you're boiling/roasting the veg, then making the dough and boiling only as much gnocchi at a time that your pot is not crowded, followed by the pan method I mentioned (should you choose that). You can totally serve up the gnocchi right from boiling, with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon, sage, or basil, and whatever else you fancy.
For those of you who aren't fans of slow food, and/or are run by time, don't give this one a miss. Throw caution to to the wind, start early and just play without time as your keeper.
I assure you, this is well worth every nano second of your hearts work.
