Yes, Our Tomato Pesto Gnocchi Recipe Is Entirely Vegan

Gnocchi, fingertip-sized ridged pieces of fluffy cooked dough that can be dressed in a variety of sauces, is very popular in Italian cuisine. Although often referred to as pasta, gnocchi are actually a kind of dumpling made with potatoes and flour. What's better than a warm and cozy dish of gnocchi? Well, if you're following a plant-based diet, knowing it's entirely vegan tops the list. Vegan gnocchi is very similar to regular gnocchi, so even omnivores won't be able to tell. The key difference is that this vegan recipe leaves out the egg, but it isn't necessary to hold the gnocchi together. They hold their shape perfectly with just potatoes, flour, and a pinch of salt.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for a vegan gnocchi dish that's creamy, rich, and comforting. Bottalico has paired the gnocchi with homemade sun-dried tomato pesto, which is very quick to make. Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts make the pesto creamy, and fennel fronds and basil add a lovely flavor. This pesto is flavor-packed and rich without the need for grated cheese. Homemade gnocchi may not be the quickest thing to make, but we feel like setting aside time to make it is more than rewarding, both for the satisfaction of making something by hand and for the fresh taste that can't be replicated in a package.

To make the gnocchi, you will need russet potatoes, all-purpose flour, and salt. For the sun-dried tomato pesto, start with a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. An 8-ounce jar will provide the right amount, but if you buy a different size jar, measure out ¾ cup of drained sun-dried tomatoes. You'll also need extra virgin olive oil. We recommend using good oil, because the recipe takes a lot, and you will taste it. You'll also need pine nuts, garlic, basil leaves, the fronds from one head of fennel, and salt. You can substitute almonds, Brazil nuts, or cashews for some or all of the pine nuts if needed, just make sure they're raw and unsalted.

Place the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water. Leave the skin on the potatoes.

Bring the water to a gentle boil and cook the potatoes for about 30 to 35 minutes, until fork tender.

Meanwhile, drain the sun-dried tomatoes well but don't blot them dry.

Put all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor and blend, scraping the sides when needed, until well mixed, creamy, and uniform. Set the pesto aside.

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

Drain the potatoes, cut them in half, and pass the hot potatoes through a potato ricer (cut side down so the peels don't clog the openings) and onto a lightly floured work surface. Remove the peels from the ricer occasionally. Start the next step while the potatoes are still warm.

Sprinkle half the flour on top of the potatoes and start mixing with a fork in a tossing motion, then add the rest of the flour and continue to mix with the fork until the flour is evenly dispersed.

Working quickly, use your hands to press and lightly knead the mixture into a smooth, even ball of dough.

Flatten the dough until it's about ¾ inch high and cut it into long strips about 1 inch wide.

Press and roll each strip with your palms while pushing them out to the sides to form long cylinders of dough, no more than ½ inch wide.

Cut the cylinders into short pieces about ¾ inch long.

Press one side of each piece with your thumb to make a depression while rolling the other side against the tines of a fork mark it with lines. Alternatively, you can roll the pieces against a gnocchi board.

Sprinkle flour on a kitchen towel before laying the gnocchi down in a single layer. Do not let the gnocchi touch. Sprinkle a little more flour on top and let them dry out slightly.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Cook the gnocchi until they float to the top of the water, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cook them a handful at a time if you don't have a large pot. Do not overcook them.

Remove the gnocchi from the water with a spider strainer or slotted spoon (do not drain them in a colander) and place them in a serving dish or large bowl. Don't pour the water out of the pot yet.

Add the pesto and carefully mix it with the gnocchi, adding a little of the pasta cooking water to aid mixing and make it creamier.

Serve immediately.

Knowing a few tips will help you avoid basic mistakes when making gnocchi and help them come out well. First, choose older potatoes if you can, because they will be drier and more like flour. Cook the potatoes (with the skins on so they don't get as waterlogged) until they're easily pierced with a fork. Larger potatoes will take longer, so check each one individually. Too-firm potatoes will be hard to rice. Make sure to rice them when they're still hot, or they'll get sticky. Insert the halved potatoes cut side down in the ricer so the skins don't clog the holes. You'll need to remove the peels occasionally so they don't come out into the riced potato.

This isn't regular pasta dough that must be kneaded for 15 minutes. Stop working the dough as soon as it comes together in a ball. Overworked dough will need more flour, and the gnocchi will end up too hard. Lay the shaped gnocchi in a single layer dusted with flour so they don't stick, and don't overcook them or they'll get mushy. Remove them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon, because they'll stick if dumped in a colander. Gnocchi only last a few hours in the refrigerator, so if you're making them for later, freeze them uncooked (first in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent sticking) and cook them directly from the freezer or they'll stick as they thaw.

There are a couple tools on the market that help make the process of making gnocchi easier, but you can make gnocchi without them if you don't have them. A potato ricer does more than just rice potatoes, but as the name shows, it's well known as a tool for potatoes because boiled potatoes passed through the holes of a ricer come out in small pieces that fall into a fluffy pile. Ricers are often used to keep potatoes light and fluffy for mashed potatoes, and that's what happens with the potatoes for gnocchi too. As an added convenience, the ricer removes the peel at the same time so you don't have to remove it by hand. If you don't have a ricer, remove the potato skins with a knife after cooking and grate the potatoes on a box grater. This will make them come out fluffier than if you mashed them with a hand potato masher.

A gnocchi board is a wooden tool that looks like a small cutting board or paddle with lengthwise ridges on the surface. It's used for making the characteristic ridges on the surface of the gnocchi, which helps sauce cling to each piece better. You don't need to buy one of these unless you want to. Gnocchi can actually be made without any ridges at all, or, to DIY the ridges, just roll the gnocchi on the tines of a fork like we've done in this recipe.