Name: Gnocchi in spiced red lentil sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp vegetable oil; 1 onion; 2 cloves garlic; 1 small piece of ginger; 2 carrots; ½ tsp ground cumin; tsp ground coriander; ¼ tsp chilli powder; 1 pinch turmeric; 1 Tbsp tomato purée; ½ cup chopped fresh tomatoes or ½ tin chopped tomatoes; 50g red lentils; ½ litre vegetable stock; 1 bay leaf; a small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped; 1 pack ready-to-cook gnocchi; 2 handfuls of wild rocket or baby spinach leaves

Gnocchi in spiced red lentil sauce

15 Mar 2023

by Wholeness

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Total Time

30 minutes

Background

This vegan gnocchi in spiced red lentil sauce is a healthy, hearty meal. The sauce can be cooked well in advance, in fact it’s enough for several meals, or you could use it for other recipes such as soups, meat stews, vegetable stuffing and so on. If you have the sauce pre-made, then the dish can be served within 10 minutes, so it’s ideal on busy/lazy days. I used gluten-free gnocchi, but you can use normal or home-made ones.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 small piece of ginger
2 carrots
½ tsp ground cumin
tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp chilli powder
1 pinch turmeric
1 Tbsp tomato purée
½ cup chopped fresh tomatoes or ½ tin chopped tomatoes
50g red lentils
½ litre vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
a small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 pack ready-to-cook gnocchi
2 handfuls of wild rocket or baby spinach leaves

Instructions

First make the sauce.
Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Chop the carrots too.
Heat the oil in a large pot and add the chopped vegetables, then sauté them gently over low heat for about 8 minutes.
Add the spices, stir for a few seconds, then add the tomato purée and stir again for a few seconds.
Add the lentils, chopped tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, add the bay leaf and gently simmer for about 25 minutes.
Discard the bay leaf, add the coriander leaves, then purée the stew until you get a lightly textured sauce.
Cook the gnocchi according to the packet’s instructions, then remove them with a slotted spoon into a large bowl.
Add two or three ladles of the sauce and mix well together with the spinach or rocket leaves.
Serve warm.
Use the remaining sauce for pasta and meat dishes or add some stock to it and you’ll have a lovely, healthy soup.