Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Following on from my last post about not waiting to do things we've wanted to do for ages I finally got around to making some (sweet potato) gnocchi. I went to town this morning to get a few things and despite it being grey and raining I came back in the most brilliant mood and couldn't wait to get creative!
It then put me in an even better mood when I remembered that my housemate's friend who's staying with us is Italian, despite having not made gnocchi for quite a few years, she could remember some of the techniques from previously making sweet pumpkin gnocchi with cinnamon sugar (which sounds amazing!) and helped me figure out how to roll the gnocchi to get the signature shape (as well as we could with a fork, anyway).
Sweet Potato Gnocchi | Serves: 3-4 | Time: 45-60 minutes
You'll Need
Blender
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Fork
Chopping board
Knife
Large Frying Pan
Large saucepan
Slotted spoon
Ladle
Salt for cooking water
Ingredients
Gnocchi:
1.5 cups sweet potato mash (1 large sweet potato*)
1-1.5 cups plain flour
Generous pinch salt & pepper
Sauce:
150g baby chestnut mushrooms
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1/2 cup dried mushroom pieces
1 cup warm water
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp mustard
Pinch black pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
*Either roast the sweet potato in its skin, or microwave, then scoop out the flesh. Boiling will add too much moisture and result in much softer gnocchi.
Method
Begin by adding the cashew nuts, dried mushrooms, warm water, garlic powder, mustard, lemon juice, parsley and a pinch of black pepper to the blender, leave to soak whilst you make the gnocchi.
Put the cooked sweet potato mash in a bowl and combine with a generous pinch of salt, black pepper and 1-1.5 cups of flour until a dough is formed. Then divide into portions, roll into a long sausage shape, cut and roll using a fork - instructions for the rolling can be found in the text of this post above.
Bring a large pan of (generously) salted water to the boil, then carefully add the gnocchi to the water and boil for 5-7 minutes, until the gnocchi no longer taste floury.
Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms and begin to fry these until slightly browned, then blend the sauce until smooth and add into the pan, along with the fresh thyme, a few ladles of the starchy, salted pasta water, taste and adjust seasonings as needed, then reduce the heat to low.
Using the slotted spoon transfer the cooked gnocchi into the sauce, stir to combine, serve up with a generous amount of black pepper and enjoy!