Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 2 large shallots
  • 3 garlic cloves, divided
  • 20-30 ml / 4-6 tsp olive oil
  • 300 g / 10½ oz mushrooms (I used chestnut / cremini and a few oyster mushrooms), sliced
  • 30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 tsp all purpose wheat or chickpea flour (for GF version)
  • 450 ml / scant 2 cups almond milk (or any other neutral tasting plant milk)
  • 2 tsp white / shiro miso paste*
  • 2-3 tsp Dijon mustard, more to taste
  • 1 heaped tbsp nutritional yeast
  • approx. 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or rosemary leaves, chopped)
  • approx. ¼ tsp black pepper (for the entire dish)
  • approx. ¾-1 tsp salt flakes (for the entire dish)
  • 20 ml / 1½ tbsp lemon juice, more to taste
  • 500 g / 17½ oz shop-bought gnocchi** (gluten-free if needed)
  • 150 g / 5¼ oz tenderstem or regular broccoli, chopped small (optional)
  • 50 g / 1¾ oz vegan cheese, grated or homemade cashew cheese
  • 2 tbsp coarse breadcrumbs (optional)
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts

Instruction

  • Dice shallots and two garlic cloves finely, grate or mince the third garlic clove and set aside for the bechamel.
  • Heat up a cast iron skillet or a medium size pan on a low-medium heat. Add 2-3 tsp of olive oil and once the oil is warmed up, add shallots and diced garlic. Fry them off gently until fragrant and translucent, stirring often.
  • Remove shallots and garlic from the skillet. Heat up another 2-3 tsp of oil in the skillet.
  • Add the sliced mushrooms and fry them off gently, stirring frequently, until they are lightly browned and all the water has cooked out. Season the mushrooms with a generous amount of salt and pepper and some picked thyme leaves. Return shallots and garlic to the pan, mix well and set aside for later.
  • Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F.
  • Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a medium size pot. Once the oil comes to temperature, whisk in flour. Allow the flour to cook off for a bit in the oil stirring with a wire whisk. The flour should bubble very gently and it will turn a little golden after a few seconds, but don't allow it to brown too much. Add in almond milk slowly, whisking the whole time, to create a béchamel sauce.
  • Season the sauce with a grated garlic clove, miso, mustard, nutritional yeast, thyme leaves, salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon to cut through the richness. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
  • Transfer the sauce to the skillet you used earlier (if you don't have a skillet you can use a baking dish instead), place raw gnocchi, cooked mushrooms, raw broccoli chopped small in the sauce. Top with grated vegan cheese (or puddles of homemade cashew one like I did), breadcrumbs, pine nuts and some more thyme leaves.
  • Cover the skillet tightly with a piece of kitchen foil and allow it to bake uninterrupted for 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes, take the foil off and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until everything is beautifully browned. Divide between bowls and enjoy immediately.