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This is one of my favourite, relaxed dinners to make mid-week. In about half an hour you get to enjoy a lovely warm bowl of gnocchi in aromatic sauce and you sort out the next day’s lunch for work. The key here is to add a bit of depth of flavour with Henderson’s relish. It’s gluten free and vegan. If you are on the meat side of life, you might have a bottle of Worcestershire sauce somewhere in your cupboard- use it as a non-vegan alternative if you’d like to. In case you are really struggling to find either, you can opt for soy sauce but it will not add the same level of flavour.
Henderson’s sauce- the vegan Worcestershire Sauce?
If you haven’t tried the Henderson’s relish before you are up for a treat. It is vegan option for those who miss Worcestershire Sauce. It adds a ton of flavour to sauces, pasta bakes and stews. What I find particularly interesting about it, is the fact that it has been produced in Sheffield, South Yorkshire since late 19th century. Still going strong!
You can buy it here
Tinned tomatoes
For this recipe you will really want to splurge on good quality tinned tomatoes. They are make or break this recipe! I know you’ve probably heard it milliard of times on cooking blogs and sometimes they’re a bit snobby when it comes to ingredients (oh, it must be Medjool dates, not the regular ones that poor people buy!) but when it comes to making tomato sauce the quality of tinned tomatoes will make a huge difference. If you opt for very cheap ones you get mostly… water. So you end up reducing it more to get any sort of flavour. I like Napolina brand but go for Mutti if you’re feeling fancy. From my experience, avoid KTC brand- I use them for beans and rose water very happily but their tinned tomatoes are just not that great.
One pot gnocchi supper
Ingredients
The base
- 500 g ready uncooked gnocchi
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes good quality
- 1 tin cannellini or butter beans with the liquid
- 200 ml hot water
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 10 g butter optional
Aromatics
- 2 tsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp sun dried tomato paste optional
- black pepper
- 1-3 tsp Henderson's relish or similar to give it depth of flavour
- 1 tsp dried basil opt for fresh basil if you have some
Garnish
- parmesan cheese skip to keep it vegan
- 1 bunch of rocket salad or fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Chop onions into small cubes. Heat the olive oil and start cooking the onions on small to medium heat. Take your time so they have a chance to caramelise. Add butter if using and continue cooking for about 5-10 minutes.
- Peel and press garlic through a presser. Add to the pan, cook until fragnant (about 1 minute).
- Add chopped tomatoes, beans with the liquid from the tin and about 200 ml of hot water. Add basic amount of your aromatics (basil, tomato purée, sun dried tomato paste, Henderson's relish)- you can always add more later. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. The sauce should be a little watery at this stage as gnocchi will absorb some of the liquid. When you are happy with the flavour add gnocchi and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Serve fresh or pack for a lunch. You can also freeze it for later for up to a month.
