from The Plantpower Way: Italia Cookbook by Julie Piatt and Rich Roll

Yeah, these people are pretty amazing.  The two put their skills together to write The Plantpower Way a few years ago, and now have a new cookbook that is centered around recipes they developed for the retreat they've been leading in Tuscany:  The Plantpower Way:  Italia!  Sounds dreamy, doesn't it?   This is a beautiful book full of that Italian countryside vibe, with images from their retreat and food that reads as authentically Italian and is 100% plant-based.  Seem too good to be true?  It's real, people.  These are recipes that you can reasonably make at home and will wow everyone!  Meat eaters and vegans alike will love this food.

Gnocchi Empowered

Italian food has always been a family favorite, so when I started learning more about preparing plant-based foods, I longed for a cookbook to help me prepare simple yet delicious vegan Italian.  One Christmas Eve, I tried to start a new tradition of making homemade gnocchi for our special Christmas Eve dinner, following a recipe I'd found online.  It was an epic fail.  The dough didn't come together well and it became a big gloppy mess.  I figured gnocchi was just too difficult and let the idea go.  Well, The Plantpower Way: Italia has restored my faith in my gnocchi-making abilities!  The gnocchi recipe in this book is straightforward and really pretty easy, and my gnocchi actually turned out great!  It's a fun process, and a great activity for the whole family to get involved in.  While you can use a fork to form the gnocchi, I found an inexpensive gnocchi board to be worthwhile (link to purchase one below).  I'm already looking forward to Christmas Eve, although I'm now thinking we need to make it a more frequent tradition..

Gnocchi Recipe +

Julie & Rich have not only shared their Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Gnocchi recipe with us, they've also shared two complimentary recipes:  Simply Red Tomato Sauce and Macadamia Parmesan!   There are so many other wonderful recipes in this book, too, like the Beluga Lentil Caviar with Cashew Sea Cheese, pictured above.

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Mangia!

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GLUTEN-FREE & DAIRY-FREE GNOCCHI RECIPE

PLUS RECIPES FOR SIMPLY RED TOMATO SAUCE AND MACADAMIA PARMESAN

FROM THE PLANTPOWER WAY: ITALIA COOKBOOK, BY JULIE PIATT & RICH ROLL

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vegan | wfpb | gluten-free | dairy-free | easy | year-round

Kari's note:  It's so satisfying to make gnocchi from scratch and see how much everyone appreciates it.  It takes a little time, but isn't very difficult.  Getting friends and family involved in the preparing as well as the eating makes it more fun and cuts the time.  I used chickpea flour as my gluten-free flour and was happy with the results.  It's possible it ends up a little on the heavier side that way, but we didn't mind! 

Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Gnocchi

Making gnocchi is so easy and fun that it’s a great place to start when you are learning how to make pasta. The potato-and-flour mixture already holds together nicely from the natural starch in the potatoes, so any gluten-free flour you like will work well in this recipe. Keep kneading the dough for at least 15 minutes to get rid of the lumps. You can use a grooved wooden pasta board to create your gnocchi shape, or using a fork will work too.

Prep/Cook time:  About 1 ½ - 2 hours for all three recipes.

Serves 4

 

Ingredienti

• 2 medium yellow potatoes (about 2 cups)

• ¼ cup organic fine corn flour, rice flour, or other gluten-free flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling

• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling

• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

• Simply Red Tomato Sauce (recipe below)

• Macadamia Parmesan (recipe below)

• 1 bunch of fresh basil, thinly sliced

• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

 

Preparazione

1. Peel the potatoes. Bring water to a boil over high heat in a medium saucepan and add the potatoes. Boil them for about 30 minutes, until they are tender when a fork is inserted. Drain the potatoes and let them cool.

2. On a large cutting board or work surface, dice the cooked potatoes until the pieces are very small.

3. Add the flour, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and salt to the potatoes.

4. Combine the mixture with your hands and knead until the mixture forms a dough. Keep kneading the dough, flipping it over and turning it for about 15 minutes, until all the lumps are removed.

5. Add a handful of flour to the work surface. Divide the dough into four sections.

6. Using both hands, roll each section into a long, cord-size piece about 16 inches long. Cut the cords into ½-inch pieces.

7. Roll the ½-inch pieces between your hands and gently place them on the wood pasta board. Make a slight indentation with your thumb and roll them gently into a gnocchi shape using the grooved wooden pasta board or the tines of a fork. Repeat with the other sections of dough.

8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Carefully add the gnocchi and boil for just a few minutes, until they float to the top of the water.

9. Drain the gnocchi in a colander. Transfer them to a serving plate and drizzle them with olive oil.

10. Pour the tomato sauce over the gnocchi and sprinkle with Macadamia Parmesan.

11. Garnish with basil and pepper.

Reprinted from The Plantpower Way: Italia by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2018, Julie Piatt and Rich Roll

 

 

 

 

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Simply Red Tomato Sauce

 

Ingredienti

• 7 garden tomatoes on the vine

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

• ½ cup chopped onion

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

• ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

 

Preparazione

1. In a deep saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil over high heat and add the tomatoes. Boil for 5 minutes, or until the skin begins to peel off.

2. In the pitcher of a Vitamix or high-speed blender, place the tomatoes, garlic, and onion. Blend on medium speed for 30 seconds. Then add water in 2-tablespoon increments and blend again to reach the desired consistency.

3. Pour the blended sauce into a saucepan over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and adjust to taste.

Reprinted from The Plantpower Way: Italia by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2018, Julie Piatt and Rich Roll

 

 

 

 

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Macadamia Parmesan

 

Ingredienti

• 2 cups raw macadamia nuts

• 1 tablespoon chickpea miso paste or light yellow miso

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

• 1 capsule acidophilus (3-billion-active-culture strain)

• 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil, plus more for greasing the mold

 

Preparazione

1. Place the macadamia nuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until mealy.

2. Add the miso and pulse for 15 seconds.

3. Add the nutritional yeast, salt, and acidophilus and pulse for 15 seconds.

4. Add the coconut oil and process.

5. Grease a 6 x 31/2 x 2-inch rectangular mold with coconut oil or line with plastic wrap.

6. Press the mixture firmly into the mold, cover with parchment paper, and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

7. Turn the cheese out of the mold and place it on a cutting board. Cut with a very sharp knife or crumble. This cheese will keep for about 2 weeks covered and refrigerated.

Reprinted from The Plantpower Way: Italia by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2018, Julie Piatt and Rich Roll

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