All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image about to watch the gnocchi video.

OK – spicy marinara is really arrabbiata – I know. And I have posted many versions of simple pasta sauce before but I am just gonna go ahead and post another here. Pasta sauce is so easy – there is no excuse to buy bullshit jarred sauce at a far greater price. HERE is one you can make in the time it takes your pasta to cook. But – in a pinch – your favorite jarred sauce will do.

I used some wrinkly sad cherry tomatoes in my sauce. Every time I consider whether produce is still edible, I think of the Diary of Anne Frank. They lived on sub-par or rotting produce. For years. So, I am usually guilted into finding a way to use the questionable items.

Gnocchi are remarkably easy to make, too. Once the potatoes are baked – it can all come together pretty quickly & so incredibly delightfully. This recipe should feed 4 pretty easily but if you want to save a bunch for the future – simply put uncooked gnocchi on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Put the sheet in the freezer & once the gnocchi are frozen, put them into sandwich bags in the freezer. When you want to eat them – boil them frozen or they will get gooey.

In the past, I have made these with eggs but this recipe is vegan & they came out SO LIGHT & PILLOWY! I will never use eggs in gnocchi again. I had to subsidize my Russet potato quotient with some random yellow potato. It didn’t hurt anything. But try to use Russet because of the starch & moisture factors.

Vegan Parsley Herbed Gnocchi with a Spicy Basil Marinara

INGREDIENTS

for the gnocchi

3 lbs Russet potatoes

1 TBS olive oil

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 1/2 cups (plus more) flour

S&P to taste

for the spicy basil marinara

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 28 oz crushed tomatoes

30 grape or cherry tomatoes – quartered

1 TBS olive oil

6 garlic cloves – chopped

1/2 cup chopped basil

1-3 tsp crushed red pepper – optional

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

for the spicy basil marinara

Heat the olive oil over medium heat & saute the garlic for about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste & fry another minute or so. Add the crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes & basil & about 1 cup of water. Add the crushed red pepper – if using.

Simmer covered on low for the hour it takes to bake the potatoes.

for the parsley herbed gnocchi

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the potatoes (directly on the rack) for an hour or until soft.

Halve the potatoes & let cool a bit & then peel them. If you have a ricer – rice the potatoes. Otherwise – mash’m up good with a potato masher.

Mash in the olive oil, parsley & some S&P. By hand, incorporate the flour 1/2 cup at a time until you get a dough that you can handle without it being too sticky. Depending on the sort of potatoes you used & their moisture – this might take more or less flour.

Roll out chunks of the dough into snakes less than an inch thick & cut into gnocchi.

You can leave them like that or roll them on a fork or a gnocchi board to get little grooves on them.

I like the little gnocchi board so that is what I used. They are super cheap – if you decide to buy one – like maybe $5.

Now – you can either freeze a bunch as I explained above or get to cooking them up. I let mine sit out an hour or so. It didn’t harm them.

Boil some salted water & when it is rolling – add the gnocchi. They are done when they float & stay at the top. Scoop out with a slotted spoon & serve with the marinara & more basil. Add some cheese or vegan cheese – if you desire. YUM!

Oh – and remember to buy my book! IT IS HILARIOUS! www.BathingBook.com