Crispy Ratatouille Turnovers with Basil Almond Pesto

One Year Ago Today Red Grape Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream

Two Years Ago Today Rotini with Fresh Pea Sauce, Lemon & Mint

Three Years Ago Today Peanut Butter Banana Granola

Flaky pockets of puff pastry stuffed with caramelized eggplant, sweet yellow onions, tender zucchini and red bell pepper. Serve over your favorite marinara sauce with a side of basil almond pesto for dipping.

Crispy Ratatouille Turnovers
serves 4
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 eggplant, peeled, medium dice
1 sweet onion, medium dice
1 cup white wine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 zucchini, medium dice
1 red bell pepper, medium dice
2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste
2 sheets (1 box) puff pastry, thawed
2 tbl vegan cheese, such as Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti, crumbled, optional
1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 375.
Over medium high heat, saute the eggplant and onion in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the eggplant is very tender and caramelized. Deglaze the bottom of the pan with white wine, scraping up all the bits.
Add the garlic, zucchini, red bell pepper, dried basil and red pepper flakes. Saute for 5-7 minutes more then add the broth. Cook for 5 more minutes until all of the broth has been absorbed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
Unfold each sheet of puff pastry and cut in half so you have 4 pieces. Fill each center generously with ratatouille,and cheese if using and fold over to seal. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle the tops with olive oil or oil spray. Bake for 30 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce and pesto.

Basil Almond Pesto
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
3 tbl roughly chopped toasted almonds
1 tbl nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of red pepper flakes

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Morel Gnocchi with Chunky Basil Sauce & Garlic Scapes

Today my little blog turns three! I honestly had no idea I would still be at this three years later but my love of food and sharing it with the world has only become stronger and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
As of today I have a total of 861 entries with over 2,500 recipes. That's like a vegan food dictionary! Thankfully over the years and with a little more effort, my pictures have gotten better (although I still take them with my camera phone) and my recipes more stream-lined. Who knows where I will go from here but I sure do enjoy it.

This meal came about from the bounty of fresh produce I got from my local Farmer's Market this past week. Morels, potatoes, scapes (from a friend's garden) and basil were all purchased and could not have gone together more beautifully.

One Year Ago Today Spinberry Cherry Smoothie

Two Years Ago Today Tempeh Bacon, Sweet Potato & Grilled Avocado Sandwich with Garlic-Shallot Mayo

Three Years Ago Today Rosemary Grilled Tofu with Pomegranate Reduction, Five Herb Potatoes & Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter

Tender, luxurious potato gnocchi stuffed with fresh morels served over basil sauce and garlic scapes, all from the Farmer's Market this week.

Morel Gnocchi
serves 3
8 small yellow potatoes, peeled, small dice
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup minced morels
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more if necessary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil

Combine the potatoes and garlic with salted, cold water and bring to a boil. Drain and mash completely.
Combine with the morels, flour, salt and pepper and use your hands to work into a ball of dough. If the dough is too wet, add a bit more flour.
Cut the dough into fours and gently roll and press out each piece into a rope shape about 10 inches long. Cut square pieces out about 1 inch long and set aside until all of the gnocchi is shaped and cut.
Bring a new, clean pot of salted water to a boil and add the gnocchi. Cook for 3-5 minutes until all of the pieces are floating to the top. Reserve 1/2 cup of starchy water for basil sauce and drain the rest.
Heat up the olive oil in a saute pan and add the gnocchi. Cook until just lightly browned and crispy.

Chunky Basil Sauce
1 head fresh basil, stems removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup starchy potato water from gnocchi, or tap water

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until almost smooth. Add the starchy potato water and pulse a few times more.

Garlic Scapes
1 bunch garlic scapes, roughly chopped
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon
pinch red pepper flakes
salt, to taste

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the scapes. Cook for 3 minutes then drain.
Heat up the oil in a saute pan and add the scapes. Saute with lemon juice, red pepper flakes and salt. Cook for 5 minutes until crisp and tender.