A Little Recipe: Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I love cooking new things to the point where yesterday I found myself procrastinating on homework because I remembered that I had all the ingredients to try and make sweet potato gnocchi. Dinner time is by far my favorite time of the day. I get to stop everything I'm doing for a while and stand by a warm stove of food. 

While cooking I have noticed that I've made things for myself that I've either loved or don't ever feel the need to make again. I thought I'd post the recipes I've loved as a reminder to myself.  It is so much easier to cook things when you have a running book of recipes that you love. So onward to the gnocchi!

First of all if you haven't heard of gnocchi you need to get yourself into your kitchen and whip up a batch sooner rather than later. They are like perfect little pillows of dough that you boil in water and serve with whatever sauce you want. Most of the time they are made with potato but I thought I'd give mine a little boost with a sweet potato. Plus I don't normally buy potatoes. I know they are probably a top contender for the greatest comfort food on Earth but I have never liked them except in their fried state. I know I'm weird.  Anyway, enough about my hatred for potatoes lets get on with the recipe!

These were surprisingly easy to make.  I don't know why but in my head making pasta is such a daunting task. Gnocchi is a great place to start because it is so simple, as in four ingredients simple.

Ingredients

1 medium to large sweet potato (probably about a cup and a half of flesh)

1 egg

Teaspoon of salt and pepper

3/4 cup of flour plus more for dusting

Recipe

1. Bake your sweet potato either in the oven or in a microwave until soft all the way through. I tested mine with a fork. Then wait for it to cool enough to touch. 

2. Scoop flesh from the sweet potato and mash until smooth. A potato masher would work great here. If you want it super smooth you could even run it through a food processor but it's up to you. 

3. Combine beaten egg, salt, and pepper into the sweet potato. 

4. Add in flour in 1/4 cup increments. I found that in the early stages it was easier to use a fork to combine the flour until the dough became less sticky.  Then I began kneading with my hands. Make sure you don't over knead. At the end the dough was slightly tacky. 

5. On a floured surface roll the dough into long cylinders about the diameter of your thumb.

6. With a knife, cut these into half inch slices. You can really make them as big or small as you like. I found that half inch worked best for me. 

7. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie tray. If you're eating them all right away cook them in salted boiling water until they float to the surface. If you want to save some for later keep the on the cookie tray and place them into the freezer until frozen through. You can then remove them from the cookie tray and place them into a freezer safe bag or container. By allowing them to freeze first on the cookie tray you ensure they don't stick together. 

As far as sauces, I suggest sautéing the gnocchi with some butter garlic and greens of your choice. I also threw in some peas as you can see from the top photo. A creamy mushroom sauce would also be wonderful. Also don't forget to top with a good portion of parmesan cheese. 

I hope you enjoy!

oxo Caitlin