Chick pea and nori gnocchi with smokey, heirloom carrot ribbons, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, and spring mix

The chick pea flour gives this gluten free version of this dish a lovely, soft chew that’s similar to potato and wheat flour. If you don’t have a spiralizer or a mandoline, you can shred the carrots using a box grater. The texture will be slightly different, but the flavor will be consistent.

Ingredients

For the gnocchi
1 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 cups chick pea flour, 1/4 cup reserved
1 cup boiling water
1T green nori flakes
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 liters water with 2t coarse sea salt
1T olive oil
2T nutritional yeast
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the carrots
4 medium purple heirloom carrots (about 1 packed cup when cut)
1T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2t red Thai chili paste (or similar or to taste)
2t tamari (use gluten free)
2t coconut sugar (maple syrup makes a good substitution)
A dash liquid smoke
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the spring mix
1T olive oil
2t balsamic vinegar
1 scallion, minced (4″ green reserve for garnish)
2t fresh garlic, minced
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 cups packed spring mix
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the garnish
2T sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (use dehydrated, not jarred)
2T walnuts, chopped
Scallion green sliced on a diagonal as above

Instructions

Make the dressing, start the gnocchi and then carrots. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, scallion, garlic, and the coarse sea salt in a small dish until well combined. Set aside for the flavors to mix and start the pasta.

Mix the flours for the pasta with the course sea salt and nori. Whisking as you pour, add the boiling water. Be careful; it will be quite hot, but keep mixing. This will result in a dry and crumbly dough. That’s fine — it will continue to absorb flour, soften and become moist. Turn the dough out onto a cutting board. As soon as its cool enough for you to do so, knead as you would a regular dough until all the flour is absorbed and you have a smooth, pliable dough. Add additional chick pea flour 1 tablespoon at a time as you knead. Let rest 2 minutes.

When the dough is ready, roll out on a well-floured board in a rectangle until the dough is about 1/4″ thick. Tear or cut 2t pieces of dough. Roll each piece into a firm, smooth ball, then roll the dough gently into a slightly oblong shape. Ridge each gnocchi with a fork by gently but firmly pressing the back of the tines into the gnocchi. Repeat until you’ve used all of your dough. Let rest about 10 minutes and start the carrots.

Preheat the oven to 450F. Whisk the dressing for the carrots, and toss together until the carrots are well-coated. Add the carrots in a shallow layer to a roasting pan. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for about 10 minutes — until the carrots are lightly browned and chewy.

While the carrots roast, cook the pasta. In a large pot, bring the 2L water and sea salt to a simmer for the pasta. Add the gnocchi and simmer until they begin to float, about 3-5 minutes. Don’t boil and don’t overcook. Add 1T pasta water to the spring mix dressing. Drain the gnocchi, rinse thoroughly in cool water, toss in the 1T olive oil and nutritional yeast until well-coated, and season to taste.

In a large bowl, dress the spring mix, add the gnocchi, toss very gently to combine, and set aside until the carrots are ready. Once the carrots are ready, remove from the oven and season to taste. Then, plate the dish. Add the gnocchi and spring mix first, then add the carrot on top. Sprinkle with the sun-dried tomato, chopped walnuts, and scallions, and then serve.