Homemade Gnocchi With Wild Mushroom Ragu

Homemade Gnocchi with wild mushroom ragu! Vegan gnocchi with a show-stopping mushroom ragu. So rich and satisfying, you’d never guess it’s vegan!

You ready for a date night in? That’s what I’m calling this meal. Date night food: no babysitter, overpriced wine list or fancy clothes required.

BL and I have been trying to have more date nights in together; time after Van goes to bed that we can open some wine, take our time with a good dinner and enjoy each others company. It’s sometimes hard to find time (and energy) for each other after a long day, but somehow making a delicious dinner together feels both very special and effortless.

I know you might think that making homemade gnocchi is hard, but I swear it isn’t. It takes time, but it’s not very difficult.

The key is baking the potatoes, not boiling them. Boiling or steaming the potatoes makes them waterlogged, which means you will have to add in more flour than you want resulting in a sticky, gluey gnocchi mess. Baking the potatoes helps to dry them out, a must for tender, pillowy gnocchi.

I’m also going to suggest that you get a ricer for this dish. They aren’t expensive and you will use it over and over again to create not only gnocchi, but perfect mashed potatoes as well. You know how gluey overworked mashed potatoes can be? None of that happens when you use a ricer. It breaks down the potatoes to almost nothing: add in the salt and flour and the gnocchi comes together in just a few stirs.

I suppose you can make any sauce recipe you want for this, but I figure if you’re going to take the time to make homemade gnocchi, why not do a knock-out sauce as well? Wild mushroom ragu is my absolute favorite pasta sauce. It’s rich with umami flavor, tastes meaty without the meat and is delicious not only on this gnocchi, but with regular fettuccini as well. If I want to impress, I make this sauce.

 

I knew the second I tasted the sauce that BL was going to love this dish. I did a little jig in the kitchen knowing that I was going to make him oh-so-happy for dinner that night.

Instagram may make you think the opposite, but trust me when I say that living with a food blogger isn’t always that fun. Sometimes the food is cold because I took too much time photographing. Sometimes we eat at 10PM because I started over 4 times. But when I get it right, I know. If BL loves it, I know everyone else will too.

PS! If you want to see exactly how to make this gnocchi, I made a video for you here. You’ll get a glimpse of our old apartment, my very dark brown hair phase and the striped shirt that I still wear all the time.

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BL approved. After he takes a bite, looks at me and says ‘A+’ I know we have found a winner.

Whose your tasting partner?