January is one of those months where I just want to go easy on my body and soul. I don’t do detoxes but I keep things easy to digest, simple and comforting. For example, I’ll eat more soups and scale down on raw salads, eat less meat and boost my cooked veggie intake, drink (a little) less coffee and more herbal teas, have red wine instead of white 😉 you know what I mean: nothing drastic, just simpler, wholesome and delicious. One dinner recipe that ticks all those boxes are these cauliflower gnocchis. They’re healthy and lighter than the traditional version, but delicious and soul-satisfying.
If making gnocchi seems like a daunting task don’t worry: once you start experimenting with these fluffy Italian dumplings you will realize how easy they are to pull off. I often prepare and boil gnocchis ahead of time, cover, refrigerate and warm them up the next day and they are absolutely delicious. You could serve them with a tomato or a herb sauce, but I prefer them plain with a drizzle of olive oil, crumbled rosemary, lots of cracked peppercorns and generous spoonfuls of freshly grated parmesan.
Ingredients
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (or regular if you prefer) + 1/2 cup for rolling and dusting
- 1/4 cup of grated parmesan
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp rosemary needles (dry or fresh)
- Extra parmesan, salt and freshly ground pepper to serve
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into little florets and steam them until they are very well cooked.
- Place them in a colander to drain them of water and then place them on a large, dry clean dish cloth. Close the dish cloth, twisting it to squeeze as much of the moisture out as possible. Then pour the florets into a bowl and mash them finely using a ricer, fork or potato masher.
- Once the cauliflower is mashed, add in the salt, egg yolk and 1 cup of flour. Mix until it forms a thick paste, add the parmesan and then another 1/2 cup of flour for it to form a ball.
- Divide the ball into 4 smaller balls. Dust each one with flour so it is easy to roll into a rope with your hands. Roll each one into a 2cm-thick rope. Then cut the rope into 2-3 cm pieces and lightly flatten the top of each piece with the back of a fork.
- Set the uncooked gnocchi aside on a large plate
- Put a large pot of salted water to boil. Toss in the gnocchi (do this in two batches depending on the size of your pot). Wait until they float to the surface – this can take 1 to 2 minutes. Take them out with a slotted spoon and place them on a serving plate.
- In a small pot, warm the olive oil on low to medium heat with the rosemary for one or two minutes until the rosemary starts bubbling
- Pour the scented oil on the gnocchi, sprkinkle a generous amount of parmesan cheese, lots of freshly cracked peppercorns and serve
