At the end of July I challenged myself to a month of meat and dairy-free eating. There is so much persuasive material out there about how ‘going vegan’ is so beneficial for, well, everyone. A friend of mine gave up meat and dairy (kept fish and eggs) and lost 6kg in the first month. Almost a year after having my baby and still not getting in to my “old” jeans- that was motivation enough.

I was strict for a month and it went really well. Easy, really. It’s amazing how quickly you can get used to things. After the month was up the plan was to eat meat now and then if I fancied it, once a week perhaps, and to reintroduce dairy if I felt like it. But I found it hard. I now find myself disgusted by meat and dairy, which is a shame as this wasn’t a long-term plan. I hope that I’ll one day be able to enjoy a nice plate of Carpaccio again, but for now it looks like I’ll be sticking to fish, eggs and veg. So, here comes another vegan recipe. I don’t use any strict quantities for this one, so be creative!

Makes 2-3 portions

What you need:

A bag of fresh potato Gnocchi (refrigerated in supermarket)
Fresh Chanterelles (clean by using a brush, or rinse)
Alpro Cuisine soya cream
Spring onions
Half a red onion
Frozen peas
Crema balsamico
Veg / chicken stock

Fill a saucepan with water and a drop or two of oil. Bring to the boil ready for your Gnocchi

1. Chop the red onion finely and fry in olive oil on a medium heat until soft
2. Add the chanterelles and fry until fragrant
3.  Add approx. 1dl boiling water and a stock cube- veg (for vego) or chicken
4. Stir until stock cube is dissolved and add a handful of peas
5. Once the liquid has evaporated, add the Alpro cream, approx. 1/3 of pack
6. Season with salt and pepper. Stir on a low heat and lower heat again when consistency is good
7. Put the Gnocchi into the pan of boiling water- as soon as they float to the surface they are ready- only takes about a minute so watch them like a hawk, otherwise you’ll be left with mushy, slimey Gnocchi
8. Drain the Gnocchi and plate up, top with your creamy Chanterelles and chopped spring onion
9. Finish with drops of balsamic syrup and freshly ground black pepper.

Words: Clara Isherwood