Ingredients
Directions 15 steps | 60 Minutes
Measure and prep all ingredients.
Prepare the mushrooms. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Lower to medium and swirl in olive oil. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until lightly browned.
Add the thyme or oregano. Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle the pan with white wine and sauté allowing the wine to reduce. Turn off the heat and the pan set aside.
Prepare the pesto sauce. In a blender, combine the fresh basil, garlic cloves, pine nuts, vegan Parmesan cheese, olive oil and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt. (See notes 2.)
Prepare the gnocchi. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Peel the sweet potato and cut it into smaller sizes for faster cooking.
Boil for about 20 minutes until soft. The sweet potatoes are done when there is no resistance when pierced with a fork.
On a cutting board, place the flour in a mound. Make a hole in the middle, similar to a well. Use a grater to grate the warm sweet potatoes into the hole. (See notes 3-4.)
Form a second hole inside the grated potatoes. Add the olive oil, salt and umami mushroom seasoning blend.
Cover the potatoes with the flour to create a dough. Knead the sweet potatoes and flour together using the heel of your hand (not the fingers) until a homogenous, smooth ball of dough forms. Adding more flour, if necessary. Leave the dough for 5 minutes to rest.
Using a pastry cutter or knife, cut the dough into a few smaller pieces.
Roll each piece of the gnocchi dough into ¾-inch thick cylinders and cut 1-inch pieces. This is a perfect gnocchi size. Store the gnocchi on a sheet pan dusted lightly with flour.
Cook the gnocchi. Bring of pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, add the sweet potato gnocchi into the boiling water. Wait 3-5 minutes until the gnocchi floats. Use a mesh strainer to skim off the cooked gnocchi. Repeat until all of the gnocchi are cooked.
Place a batch of cooked gnocchi into the reserved frying pan with the mushrooms. Add the tablespoon of vegan butter and fry for 3 minutes until the butter is melted, mixing gently from time to time.
Serve on a plate with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and basil pesto for taste and garnish. Bon appetite!
Notes:
- Two small sweet potatoes can also be used instead.
- Add more olive oil, if the pesto is too dry. It should be smooth and liquid.
- Grating the sweet potatoes makes them softer.
- Make sure your potatoes are warm when grate the potatoes. If the sweet potatoes are too hot to handle, use a kitchen towel to hold the sweet potato.
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