Sometimes all I want is a piled high, colourful bowl of healthy and filling goodness – this dish definitely provides that! Packed full of veggies and balanced out with some cheese and gnocchi, this tasty vegetarian meal is fresh, guilt-free comfort food at it’s best. The below recipe provides two large portions but we had the calories spare, so it might be that you make this into 3 portions instead. Total calories = Approx. 616 per person.

Ingredients (for 2/3 people);

• 500g gnocchi
• 1 small courgette
• 1 carrot
• 1 small onion
• 1 pepper
• 40g cheddar cheese (we had some leftover slices of spicy cheddar cheese that we had 1 of each)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 60g pitted black olives
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• 200g chopped tomato or stir in sauce (we used Sacla’ Rooted in Nature Organic Sun Dried Tomato Stir in Pasta Sauce from our Degustabox)
• 80g baby leaf spinach
• 100g cherry tomatoes
• 10g basil

Method (Approx. 20 mins in total);

1. Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick), with a generous drizzle of vegetable oil over a high heat. Top, tail and dice the courgette and carrot into small pieces. Dice the pepper and the onion. Once the pan is hot, add the chopped courgette, carrot, pepper and onion with a pinch of salt and cook, covered, for 1-2 min or until starting to soften
2. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half. Once the courgette, carrot , pepper & onion has slightly softened, add the garlic granules, dried oregano and the halved cherry tomatoes. Cook for a further 2-3 min or until the tomatoes have started to break down
3. At this stage I added my gnocchi to boiled water however I wasn’t happy with how this turned out and have been advised to bake or fry the gnocchi instead of a better texture. Therefore at this stage I would add the gnocchi to the pan and stir regularly, heating the gnocchi through and adding a bit of colour to it, ensuring you keep the right texture desired (not mushy).
4. Once the tomatoes have started to break down, add the tomatoes/sauce and the black olives with a generous pinch of black pepper and give everything a good mix up. Cook for 1-2 min or until the olives are warmed through.
5. Chop the basil finely, including the stalks. Grate the cheddar cheese. Wash the spinach, then pat it dry with kitchen paper.
6. Add the spinach to the pan and stir for 1-2 min until the spinach has wilted. Serve the Mediterranean vegetable gnocchi in bowls and garnish with the chopped basil and grated cheese
7. Enjoy!

Mmmmm this really was a delicious, vibrant, fantastic meal that has quickly become one of my favourite recipes to make! Please do give it a go and let me know what you think.

If you have any recipe recommendations, questions or would like to collaborate with me in any way, please just email me at jensfoodblog@gmail.com!

Happy munching!

Jen

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