Are you guys ready for some serious comfort food? I hope you are as I have a perfect recipe for you! It’s become a bit cold again around these parts and one or two runs in the freezing cold that I’ve forced myself to go on lately has inspired me to come up with this low on effort but high on comfort dish. Now I can come home, whack it in the oven while I’m in the shower and enjoy a well-deserved and super comforting meal to warm myself up with.
Typically, I would probably gravitate towards a tomato-based gnocchi dish as I love these sorts of flavours, but Duncan and cooked tomatoes do not get along so well sometimes and as a brand new owner of a cast iron skillet I am aware that they don’t like acidic foods very much either, as acid tends to strip off the coating of seasoning that makes these pans so good to cook on. It’s taken me a long time, but I am finally a happy owner of a cast iron skillet, not because of the cost as they are famously inexpensive, but because I was worried about the required maintenance. It’s early days as I have only had this skillet for a couple of months, but I do love it. It’s especially great for dishes like this one where you can go from the stove straight into the oven without any issues (don’t worry if you don’t have one though, a baking dish will work great here too). I have forgotten not to use washing up liquid once or twice and oiling straight after drying is a bit of a nuisance but I am getting into a rhythm and so far, the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion and I have no regrets. So this dish is super easy and fairly lazy. I made it with shop-bought gnocchi and the only other essential element here is the béchamel sauce which takes minutes to make. You can skip the broccoli and (or) mushrooms if you are not a fan, although I personally love mushrooms in this dish so I would recommend not to. And if you do, at least go to the trouble of sautéing some shallots and garlic to add into the dish as they contribute a lot of flavour and again, that doesn’t take much time. I like to top this dish with some kind of vegan cheese, some pine nuts and coarse breadcrumbs for extra comfort. It is a perfect weekend meal to have on the couch, in front of a film and with a glass of wine to go with it. I hope you’ll give it a go and enjoy it as much as we have!
30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil 4 tsp all purpose wheat or chickpea flour (for GF version) 500 ml / 2 cups almond milk (or any other neutral tasting plant milk) 10 g / 2 tsp white / shiro miso paste* 2 tsp Dijon mustard, more to taste 1 heaped tbsp nutritional yeast approx. 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or rosemary leaves, chopped) approx. ¼ tsp black pepper (for the entire dish) approx. ½ tsp fine salt (for the entire dish) 15 ml / 1 tbsp lemon juice, more to taste
REMAINING INGREDIENTS
500 g / 17½ oz shop-bought gnocchi** (gluten-free if needed) 150 g / 5¼ oz tenderstem or regular broccoli, chopped small (optional) 50 g / 1¾ oz vegan cheese, grated or homemade cashew cheese 2 tbsp coarse breadcrumbs (optional) 2 tbsp pine nuts
ASSEMBLY
