Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Each of my kids has a favourite meal they request for special occasions, and this is often requested.  I took a basic gnocchi recipe and added sweet potato, tossed them in brown butter and served them sprinkled with crispy fried sage.  This year, the deer have made a buffet of my garden (even sneaking under the screening to nibble the snap peas) but my sage is flourishing so I was craving the flavour of this dish.  I often make a big batch and have some on-hand in the freezer. Serve with a crusty baguette, tossed salad and a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio.

​The trick to good gnocchi is to make them firm yet pillowy. One way to do this is to avoid extra moisture in the potatoes, so I bake them instead of boiling them. The other trick is to use a potato ricer instead of mashing. Ricing creates a soft, light texture while mashing can break up the starches making it more gluey. Because sweet potatoes naturally have more water, I combine them with Russets and find that I have to play around with the flour quantity each time to get the right consistency: soft and yet manageable.  This is partly because potatoes vary in size so exact measurements aren't possible; if the dough is too sticky to roll, add more flour, but try not to work the dough too much.

I don't have a gnocchi board (someone please make me one?!?) and can't be bothered using the fork method, so my gnocchi are "naked".  Creating texture in the gnocchi is all about making it easier for them to trap and hold sauce, so it isn't as much of an issue with this recipe. If you're making plain gnocchi and serving with a marinara or pomodoro sauce, you may want to check out a video on how to make the ridges. The size you make your gnocchi is also entirely up to you -- I've had gnocchi in some restaurants as big as a silver dollar. Adjust your cooking time if you're making them larger.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

​3 large baking potatoes (like Russet)
1 medium to large sweet potato
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour (+/-)
1/3-1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper
1 egg

1. Prepare the potatoes by either boiling or baking until very tender. If you boil them, try leaving them in their skins so they absorb less water, or at least leave them whole. Bake sweet potato until very tender (I have used the microwave in a pinch.) When cool enough to handle, peel and cut potatoes in half to fit the ricer.
2. Put two cups of flour on the counter or in a mixing bowl and mix in salt, parmesan cheese and pepper.  Make a large well.  Using a potato ricer, rice the hot potatoes into the centre of the well.  Using fingertips, or the dough hook attachment of a stand mixer, incorporate the flour into the potatoes. 
3. Beat the egg in a bowl.  Sprinkle a bit of flour onto the dough (this will keep the hot dough from cooking the egg) then pour egg on top.  Incorporate into the dough. (I do this in my mixer using the dough hook – but be careful not to over mix.)  Knead dough, adding more flour a little at a time to make it smooth and soft. Dough should be soft but manageable.  If it’s sticky, add more flour.  Too much handling or flour will make tough gnocchi.
4. Cut the dough into chunks and roll to desired thickness.  Cut rolls into gnocchi pillows and place on flour dusted cookie sheet. If you want to add ridges, press and flick over a “fork” or use a wooden gnocchi board.
5. Gnocchi can be frozen on a cookie sheet at this point. Once frozen, transfer from cookie sheet to a freezer bag. 

 
To Serve:

fried sage leaves
brown butter
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
a splash of white wine
fresh parmesan for garnish
freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Make the sage brown butter by melting 1/3 cup butter (+/- depending on how many gnocchi you're cooking up)  in frying pan. Add a bunch of fresh sage leaves and fry until crispy, turning at least once, and the butter begins to brown. Be careful not to burn. (For more on making sage brown butter see the blog post on making pizza here.) Remove sage from pan, drain and reserve. (Don't put on paper towel - you want that butter on the leaves and you want them to stay crispy.)
2. Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling. Working in batches so the gnocchi aren't crowded and you don't cool the water down too much (if using frozen), drop gnocchi into water and stir to keep it from sticking. Cook until gnocchi float and water is back to a boil.
3. While gnocchi is boiling, reheat the sage butter in a frying pan. (If you are doing this in batches, reserve some of the brown butter for subsequent batches.) If desired, add a clove of garlic, pressed or finely minced. Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan and a splash of white wine, and toss quickly to keep it from sticking. Fry a little bit then transfer to a serving bowl/platter. Garnish with crispy sage, freshly grated parmesan and pepper.