Gnocchi Bake Recipe

The best thing I ate in Italy was a gnocchi bake in a tiny little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Rome, the night before we flew back home. This is my feeble attempt at recreating it, good, but can’t beat real Italian gnocchi. Of course I added lentils for protein… The main recipe is a gluten-free vegan version, but I’ve added a vegetarian option at the end as well.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup dry red lentils (rinsed in cold water till water runs clear)
2 cups veggie broth (2 T Better than Bouillon vegetable paste with 4 cups boiling water)
2x 650 ml bottles of prego tomato sauce
2 T chopped fresh basil
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
200 g bag Daiya grated mozzarella cheese
200 g bag Daiya grated mexican mix cheese
2x 500 g packs Vita Sana potato gnocchi

Instructions:

1. Add lentils and broth to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes till lentils are al dente.
2. When lentils are finished cooking, cover, remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Mix together gnocchi, basil, lentils, red pepper flakes, and tomato sauce in a 9×13 casserole dish, and spread out evenly. Top with grated mozza, then grated mexican mix (melts best) daiya cheese.
5. Place casserole on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour till cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly and hot around the edges. (Check that the gnocchi in the centre of the casserole is soft and hot.)

Notes for adding two small casseroles with regular dairy cheese: Double the lentils & broth. In two 9×9 casserole dishes mix together 1/4 of the lentils, 1 bottle of tomato sauce, 1 pack gnocchi, 1 T basil, and red pepper flakes. Grate 300 g block of monterey jack jalapeno cheese and arrange half on each casserole. Slice a good quality large ball of mozzarella cheese in half, then cut each half into about 10 slices and arrange on top of each casserole. Place both casseroles on a baking sheet (in case it bubbles over) and bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour till cheese is browned and melty on top, gnocchi is soft and hot in the centre, and sauce is hot and bubbly around the edges.