I got confused this weekend in Bordeaux and ended up buying half a butternut squash for this recipe, which I actually hadn’t planned to share for another couple of weeks. So after last week’s gnocchi with harissa butter and broccoli, it may feel a little gnocchi-heavy at the moment. On the plus-side if you cooked a single serving you can use the left-overs from last week for this budget vegan gnocchi with butternut and sage traybake.
Broke Vegan: One Pot by Sam Dixon
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the Dutch translation of Broke Vegan: One Pot: Over 100 Simple Recipes That Don’t Cost The Earth by Sam Dixon and I love of it.
It’s one of those little themed cookbooks that don’t break the bank and tend to make the perfect gift, were it not that these types of books tend to be pretty shitty most of the time. With Broke Vegan: One Pot, Sam Dixon really delivers with exciting flavor profiles and multiple variations included with each recipe. If you want to have more affordable weeknight vegan meals, or know someone that does, this is the book for you.
While I’m sharing this recipe for vegan gnocchi with butternut and sage traybake with you here, other recipes I’m planning to cook from Broke Vegan: One Pot this fall are the white bean cauliflower soup, lentils with cumin, carrot and parsnip, orzo with lemon and courgette, roasted greens with hazelnut, fragrant chickpea stew, parsnip carrot and onion tarte tatin (as well as the leak and walnut variety), stewed fennel with tomato and pearl barley (hello!) and bread pudding with leeks and fennel (HELLO!). I should note that as I’ve read the Dutch copy I have no idea how correct my translations for these recipe titles are.
Do note that there’s also A Very Vegan Christmas out there by Sam Dixon so if you’re looking for some vegan Christmas inspiration, reading Budget Vegan: One Pot, I’m sure Sam’s a good bet for your vegan Christmas needs.
Vegan Gnocchi with Butternut and Sage Traybake
I know gnocchi with pumpkin and sage is kind of an open door, but somehow I never got round to making it before. I have two massive and two smell sage bushes though, and I love sage, so when I saw this vegan gnocchi with butternut and sage traybake recipe I knew she had to be mine (oh yes, she will be mine).
The recipe is a variation on the gnocchi and tomato traybake. There is also a mixed mushroom version that is high on my hitlist, but it’s pumpkin season so pumpkins it was (yes it’s also mushroom season, shut up).
Last week I said I don’t really do gnocchi unless they’ve been parboiled. This week I steeped half the gnocchi in boiling water for 2 minutes and left the other half untreated and didn’t really taste the difference so make of that what you will. On to the recipe.
To finish, some chili crisp
If you really want to make your life easier you can use Trouble&Whale’s Ciao Bella chili crisp to finish this traybake. Use discount code ‘DorothyPorker’ or click the banner below and your discount should be added to your basket automatically.
Vegan Gnocchi with Butternut and Sage Traybake
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash (around 500 g - 17.5 oz) peeled and cut into 1 cm thick slices, cubes will work as well
- 2 T olive oil
- pinch chili flakes
- pinch salt
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 500 g - 17.5 oz ready-made gnocchi note: generally store-bought gnocchi is vegan but be sure to check
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped/ pressed
- 6 sage leaves coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200° C/ 395° F and line a baking sheet with some parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the sliced butternut squash with 2 T of olive oil and a pinch of chili flakes, salt and freshly ground black pepper each until all the slices are well-coated.
- Spread out on a the lined baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes until soft and golden brown.
- In the meantime, mix the gnocchi, 3 cloves of finely chopped/ pressed/ whatever garlic and 6 leaves of coarsely chopped sage in the same mixing bowl you used for the squash. This will give the gnocchi a nice little coat of olive oil as well.
- Add the gnocchi, garlic and sage mixture to the baking sheet, mix everything well and bake for another 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- I halved this recipe for a single serving and that worked just fine
- This doesn't reheat well because in reheating it, the gnocchi either become too dry or lose all their crunch so make a portion you can eat in one sitting, or if you have to: avoid baking the gnocchi ahead of time or accept you will have a different eating experience on the second day
- I did eat my left-overs because I have a hard time throwing away food, I reheated it in a non-stick frying pan and steamed them with a tiny bit of water and a lid for a few minutes before removing the lid and trying to let it get some crunch back
- I found the day 2 version was helped immensely by adding some (non-vegan) feta
