Simple Vegetarian

Gorganzola Gnocchi

Feeds 3

Ingredients:

• 6 oz good gorgonzola cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 pint heavy cream or half & half
• 1 large leek
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 packages gnocchi

Trim the leek so only the white portion remains. Chop it finely.

Heat the olive oil in a chef's pan on medium-low heat. Add the pepper. Once the oil is heated, add the chopped leek and sauté until glassy.

Add the cream/half & half to the oil slowly, mixing thoroughly as you go.

Chop the gorgonzola coarsely. Add it and the parmesan to the sauce slowly, stirring as you go. Continue to heat on medium-low heat, stirring until the cheese is thoroughly melted and mixed in.

Cook gnocchi according to directions on package and serve with sauce.

 

Pesto Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Pesto
• 1 Pint Half & Half
• 1/4 cup freshly shredded Paremesan Cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper

 

This is a 10-minute sauce that takes about as much time and effort as cooking the pasta.

Put coat the bottom of a medium pan with the pesto and set to medium-low heat. Add black pepper.

Once the pesto starts bubbling a little bit, stir in the half & half. Stir constantly as the sauce heats. Once it starts steaming a little, add the parmesan cheese. Continue stirring and heating until it barely starts to boil. Turn the heat off and give it a couple more stirs as the bubbling subsides and it's done.

Spicy Gluten-free Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 - 12oz Bag Gluten-Free Pasta
• 1/4 cup All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour
• 1 - 12oz Can Evaporated Milk
• 10oz Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded 
• 1/2 medium Yellow Onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground Cayenne Pepper (1/2 if you're sensitive to heat)
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup "Pirates Booty" Aged White Cheddar cheese puffs
• 1/4 cup milk (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the pasta according to package instructions, rinse and set aside.

In a sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add black and cayenne pepper; mix thoroughly. Add onion and sauté until the onions start to look glassy.

Slowly stir in the flour using a whisk. Continue mixing until it reaches the consistency of a thin dough. Stir in the evaporatedmilk until the mixture forms a whitesauce. 

Set aside a quarter of the cheese. Slowly mix the cheese into the whitesauce. Whisk it until the cheese is thoroughly melted into the whitesauce. If it starts to get too thick or dough-like, add a little bit of milk.

Combine the cheese sauce and pasta in a medium, covered casserole pan and mix thoroughly. Next, crush the Pirate's Booty and sprinkle over the top of the casserole as bread crumbs. Put the remaining cheese on top of the bread crumbs.

Cover and bake for 35 minutes.

A note on ingredients -- I use bionaturae gluten-free fusilli for the pasta and Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten free flour. They tend to cook to the right consistency. If you can't find an exact match for the pasta, make sure you don't get "shell" pasta -- as fun as shells and cheese are with wheat pasta, the gluten-free variety doesn't work well withthis recipe.

 

  

 

Cuban Black Bean Tacos

Makes ~18-20 Tacos

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Sweet Onion
• 2 Red Bell Peppers
• 3-4 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
• 3/4 Cup White Wine
• 3 Cans Black Beans
• 18-20 small white corn tortillas
• 1-2 Sliced Limes
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Optional)

Chop the peppers and onion. Sautee peppers and onions with garlic in olice oil until the onions begin to turn translucent. 

Drain about half the liquid from the canned black beans and stir them into the vegetables.

Add wine and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the liquid is mostly evaporated.

Serve 2-3 tablespoons of beans in each tortilla. Add a squeeze of lime juice and cheese (if not intended to be vegan)