Gnocchi with Chorizo-Style Seitan

Last week the boy and I took a little trip down the stunning Northwest Coast, stopping in Cannon Beach and then cutting over to the vegan motherland, Portland, Oregon. Now I could go on (and on) about all the reasons why I love this culture-rich and vegan-friendly city, and probably will in a couple more posts in the future. However, the most exciting part of visiting Portland is the all-vegan strip mall on SE Stark Street that houses Sweet Pea Bakery, Herbivore and Food Fight Grocery. Here are a few must-tries: The Bacon-Scallion cream cheese and macaroni salad from Sweet Pea and JJ’s Sweets Cocomels (the fleur de sel is sublime) and Upton’s Naturals Seitan products from Food Fight. And that’s just what I’ve tried so far!

Below is a yummy dinner I threw together last night that truly made me forget that eating meat or dairy was ever an option. It was full of smokey, savoury flavours and interesting textures that left us feeling very satisfied. I am certainly an advocate of whole foods and unprocessed ingredients but sometimes a vegan gal needs store-bought goodies when her days are packed, and I am more than happy to support ethical companies that are producing food with their hearts and minds in the right place.

The vegan gnocchi was also from Food Fight but I am pretty sure that Drive Organics sells it too or somewhere else on Commercial Drive – read the labels though! The Seitan can be bought online or look for another brand at your local, healthy grocer.

Ingredients:

1 package of gnocchi

1 package of chorizo-style seitan

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

handful of fresh herbs (I used oregano and basil)

4 mushrooms, chopped

3 kale leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cook the gnocchi according to the instructions on the package.

In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Toss in the mushrooms, paprika, kale and chorizo-style seitan and cook for few more minutes. Now add the gnocchi and fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Toss to coat and serve with a drizzle more of olive oil. So easy and incredibly delicious – the boyfriend was very impressed! And while he will eat anything and never complains, some things stand out for him, and this was one of them. Enjoy!

~The Vegan Project