Guest Blogger: Vegan Monologue – Gnocchi in Velvety “Cream” Sauce with Arugul

Vegan Monologue is not a stranger to VBU!, in this post she’s coming back to charm us with another lovely recipe. Read her first contribution to VBU! HERE, a recipe for Fruit and Nut Muffins. Recently relocated to Portland, OR to be closer to nature and better vegan food, VM is a twenty-something Florida native who strives to serve up budget-friendly vegan food that feels comfortable and familiar. She strives to make her recipes easy to follow and delicious. Her creamy gnocchi recipe is her favorite dish from 2012, and is guaranteed to be quick and impressive. Follow VM on her blog. Welcome back Vegan Monologue!

 

This entree blew my mind. It is the perfect blend of creamy, cheesy, spicy, salty, sweet and bitter. It speaks to every taste sensor in your mouth. It. Is. AMAZING. I wasn’t expecting much when I made this because I adapted it from a recipe I found in Southern Living magazine, of all places. (I had to tweak the sauce to make it thicker.) In fact, the only reason I made it is because we had some gnocchi laying around and had to use it up. My husband raved about it, and he is not even a fan of arugula.

Sweet corn has been cheap lately, and I got a bunch of arugula for a song. Gnocchi is pretty economical as well.

$2.50 per serving

Serves 4

• 12 oz ready-to-boil gnocchi
• 2 small ears fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off and set aside
• 1 cup soymilk
• a few Tbs flour, plus a little more, just in case
• 3 oz. vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 cups torn arugula
• a few shakes of crushed red pepper
• handful of minced fresh basil

1. Cook gnocchi according to package, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Don’t rinse gnocchi, just drain.

2. Meanwhile, make cream sauce – combine soymilk, cream cheese, salt, garlic powder, pepper in medium saucepan

3. Cook sauce ingredients over medium heat for 10 minutes or longer until cream cheese is dissolved. Stir frequently with fork.

4. Add reserved pasta water and flour to sauce, stir until thickened. You can add more flour until desired thickness is achieved

5. Pour cream sauce over gnocchi, stir in arugula, sprinkle red pepper flakes. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.

This is my top favorite new recipe of the year-hands down!