(Vegetarian, Vegan)

This is to say, no story at all. I hope you all don’t mind – this is going to be the pithy post that you must secretly be dreaming of.  Since being vegan, I’ve missed fish so much more acutely than I’ve craved the dairy (which is a shame, since fish is so much harder on the environment).  In particular, for some reason, I’ve missed this combination. The other night, then, I made the next closest thing, and it was good. Satisfying like comfort food without the heaviness and the lingering presence. No adventures while  maniacally racing through the grocery store. No unpredicted pepper punch. No bats.

Yes folks. For once, I just ate my dinner.

This recipe, scribbled on a stained, graying and creased piece of cardstock, was pressed into my hand as I boarded a city bus one snowy morning more than a decade ago. The bestower was a garrulous self-professed connoisseur of dirty jokes and pork rinds. His gnocchi was pronounced with a hard G, and his recipe called for chicken that had received the blessing of Our Lady of Guadalupe just before its slaughter. I omitted that. I’ve never been quite able to decipher his handwriting (was it his? Or his mother’s? Great Aunt Luciana? Who can say now?), so really, for all I know his recipe calls for capons and not capers.

And I guess that’s a story, isn’t it? I’m not going to tell it today though.

This really is very simple: a meal erected with basic ingredients, which is my favorite way to cook. The complexity of the dish comes from the sauce, which had the bright taste of summer. I used home-canned tomato sauce, a la my friend Steph (thanks Steph!).  I added Italian spices, per the man’s instructions, as well as a splash of vodka and a sprinkle of sugar – not enough to matter,  and yet it does. That scant ½ teaspoon won’t sweeten the sauce, but it will emulsify the flavors, the same way the alcohol does. I threw in the beans and a bit of plain old cayenne. Were I a present-day cheese eater, grated Parmesan would be requisite.

Here’s what my recipe card looks like:

Tri-colored Gnocchi with Capers, Cannellinis and Tomato-Vodka Sauce

Vodka Tomato Sauce
1 pint of tomato sauce
5 cloves garlic
1 small red onion (I used two cippolinis)
i teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried fennel
a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup vodka
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sucanat
fresh ground pepper

Gnocchi with Capers, Cannellinis and Tomato-Vodka Sauce
16-ounce package gnocchi (No, I’m not cheating. I found a brand without eggs, at the local Italian grocer)
¾ cup uncooked cannellini beans (or 1 can, if you must)
3 tablespoons capers
Tomato Sauce (see above)
Fresh parsley if you have it
Fresh ground pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove. Add gnocchi and cook just until it floats, about 4 minutes. Drain and return the gnocchi to the pot or a large bowl. Stir in the beans and the capers. Admire how pretty this looks (especially if you’ve found tri-colored gnocchi, as I did). Add the tomato sauce and reheat slightly if need be. Add parsley, fresh pepper, and serve!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 6:20 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.