Sweet Potato Gnocchi – Boiled or Fried

I received this recipe from a friend, it closely follows a recipe from the Food Networks Giada Laurentiis while incorporating some of the stuff I learned along the way. It’s a delicious recipe that can be fried or boiled for either an appetizer, entree, or dessert

Date Made: 1/25/15

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Makes approximately ~100 Gnocci

Equipment:

• Stand Mixer

Ingredients:

Gnocchi

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 2/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Gnocchi

1. Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Microwave the sweet potatoes for 12-15 minutes until tender and fully cooked. Let cool until you can handle with hands
2. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl and mash the sweet potatoes (using a mixer makes easy work of this. Transfer to a large measuring cup to make sure the sweet potatoes measure about 2 cups.
3. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and blend until well mixed. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky at the end, use flour to remove the stickiness.
4. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 sized balls. Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.
5. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi.
6. If saving some of these for later, freeze the gnocchi before combining them in a bag to prevent them from clumping together.

Cooking

1. Cook in a pot of boiling water (don’t forget to salt) for 5-6 minutes or until they float to the top

Sauce

1. While the gnocchi are cooking melt the butter in a saute pan. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves, stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
2. Gently stir the mixture. When the bubbles subside, toss the cooked gnocchi in the brown butter. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving dish and serve.

Bonus

• If you make a ton, before cooking, freeze the pieces and then put the frozen pieces in a bag until your ready to make
• Fry the sweet potato gnocchi after adding a new flour coating