Pan-Seared Gnocchi with Butternut Squash Cream Sauce topped with Butternut Squash and Kale

Butternut Squash Cream Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt (or regular salt)
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 30 minutes or overnight
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 minced garlic bulbs
• 2 cups unsweetened soy or almond milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne

Directions:

1. Place the chopped butternut squash onto a baking pan and drizzle olive oil over the butternut squash and then mix in garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Bake on 350 for 30-40 minutes until butternut squash is golden.
2. While the squash is cooking, make the vegan cream sauce. In a blender, process the drained cashews, add the garlic, nutritional yeast and 1 ½ cups of unsweetened soy or almond milk. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.
3. Add in the roasted butternut squash. Blend until smooth. You may need to add in more soy milk to thin out the sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, chopped
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons Himalayan pink salt (or regular salt)
• 2 teaspoons white pepper
• 6 cups of chopped kale
• 2 packages of gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:

1. Place the chopped butternut squash onto a baking pan and drizzle olive oil over the butternut squash and then mix in garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Bake on 350 for 30-40 minutes until butternut squash is golden.
2. Toss the kale with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle salt. Add the kale to the butternut squash baking pan during the last 10 minutes to crisp it. (I even turned the oven from bake to broil for the last 5 minutes to crisp the kale even more).
3. While the butternut squash is baking, bring a pot of water to boil and add in the gnocchi. At the same time, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick pan.
4. The gnocchi cook in a matter of minutes (you will know when the individual gnocchi rise to the surface of the water). Add the cooked gnocchi to the non-stick pan and begin to sauté the gnocchi until they are golden brown.
5. Once the gnocchi are seared, add in the butternut squash cream sauce and heat.
6. To serve, smear a generous spoonful on the cream sauce onto a plate and then add 10 gnocchi to each plate. Top with a generous helping of baked butternut squash and crispy kale.

Makes 10 servings.