Recipes of the Lockdown: Lette’s Veggie Loaded Cheesy Gnocchi

Veggie Loaded Cheesy Gnocchi.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 brown onions
• 2 zucchinis
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 small bunch of sage
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 750g gnocchi
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 2 tins of diced tomatoes
• 2 cubes of vegetable (or chicken if preferred) stock
• 250g grated Cheddar or Tasty cheese
• 1 pinch fried chilli flakes
• 2 lebanese cucumbers
• 120 bag of rocket leaves
• Olive oil
• ½ tsp salt + salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 60g of butter
• 4 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Finely chop the brown onion,  zucchini and garlic and grate the celery and carrot. Pick a couple, 5 or 6  sage leaves and thinly slice. Drizzle the sage leaves with olive oil on a small plate (to prevent burning later on)
2. In a large frying pan, heat a teaspoon of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, zucchini, garlic, celery, carrot, dried oregano, and a pinch of chilli flakes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for 5 minutes until mix is soft and slightly translucent.
3. While the veggies are cook, heat a generous tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the gnocchi  and fry until golden, approximately 6-8 minutes allowing both sides to become golden.
4. Add tomato paste to the veggie pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute before adding the diced tomatoes, butter, brown sugar, crumbled vegetable stock cubes and a pinch of pepper. Combine and simmer until aromatic, approximately 5-7 minutes.
5. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. In a medium baking dish spread the golden crunchy gnocchi  so it is evenly distributed and pour over the veggie sauce. Top with the shredded Cheddar or Tasty  cheese and oiled sage leaves. Grill the bake until the cheese is melted and turning slightly golden, approximately 5-10 minutes. While the gnocchi bake is grilling, thinly slice the cucumber and combine with the Rocket leaves in a medium sized bowl with the balsamic vinegar and a splash of olive oil.
6. Once cheesy and golden remove the gnocchi bake from the grill and divide into your bowls and serve with side salad.

Bon Appétit

Lette