Creamy Homemade Gnocchi

Add the potatoes to a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Boil on a high heat and cook for 20 minutes or until soft in the middle. Drain and leave to cool for a few minutes.

As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard their skins. Then push the cooked potato through a potato ricer or use a spoon to push them through a fine sieve into a large mixing bowl. Now leave the mashed potato to cool completely.

Transfer the mashed potato to a clean worktop, then add the flour and a good pinch of salt. Use your hands to combine everything, then gently knead for 5 minutes by folding the dough over and over again. The dough should be slightly sticky, but firm enough to handle. If the dough is too sticky, keep adding flour a tablespoon at a time.

Shape the dough into a ball, then slice it in half. Dust the worktop with some more flour, then roll one half into a long log approximately 2cm (0.8”) in width. Slice the log into 3cm (1.2”) pieces to create your gnocchi and repeat for the remaining half of dough.

Fill the same saucepan with hot water and bring it to a gentle boil. Add the gnocchi and wait until they float to the top, then wait another 10 seconds and transfer them to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Set aside for later.

Slice any thick asparagus spears in half lengthways, then bring the saucepan of water to a fast boil and add the asparagus and peas. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the asparagus is tender, then reserve a cup or so of the cooking water, drain the veggies and set them aside.

Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or until it begins to brown, then lower the heat and add the vegan cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, cooked gnocchi (quickly drain them under cold water if they’re stuck together), asparagus, peas, lemon juice, basil and generous pinches of salt and pepper.

Give everything a good stir, then loosen the sauce with some of the cooking water you reserved earlier and heat it through for a minute or so, before plating up and serving with an extra drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Yum!