Here’s the gist of the recipe, originally from Bon Appetit: cook 2 or 3 sweet potatoes in the microwave and let them cool. I was impatient and tried to scrape them out hot, which resulted in pain. If you’re really in a hurry, wrap the bottom of the potato in a towel to protect yourself. Scrape all of the insides of the potatoes out and mash with a fork. Don’t worry too much about chunks of potato that won’t mash – as long as they’re not too big they won’t affect the final consistency of the gnocchi. Mix ricotta and grated parmesean into the sweet potato mash, followed by brown sugar and salt. Stir, stir, stir.
Once you have an even mixture, begin incorporating flour by the half cup. I used 2 1/2 cups of flour for 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, and probably ended up incorporating another cup during the rolling process so that I had a workable dough. I was worried that my dough would be too flour-y, but it turned out fine. Divide the dough into six equal pieces and roll them into worms about an inch thick. I had so much fun doing this – it was like being in elementary school art class. I almost made a coil pot out of one worm but I refrained. Don’t play with your food, unless it’s in the recipe instructions. Cut your worms into 20 or so equal sized pieces. They look like little pillows, and they have a great fluffy texture too. If you’re feeling fancy, gently press a fork onto the top of each pillow for that true gnocchi look. And once you’ve done that – boil them! The recipe says to cook them in batches and then leave them out on the counter until you’re ready to re-heat them in whatever sauce you are going to serve them in, so that’s what I did. I was wondering though if you could refrigerate the dough for 24 hours or so and cook them the next day, or if it would be better to cook them and then refrigerate them. Thoughts? The only problem I had with leaving them out on the counter already cooked was that every time I walked by I popped one into my mouth, so I had about 20% less at dinner time then I did at 4PM. Oh well.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi in Sage-Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
makes 5-6 large servings
For the gnocchi:
- 2 lbs. sweet potatoes
- 12 oz. ricotta cheese, drained for 2 hours
- 1 c. parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 T brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 1/2 c. flour, plus more for rolling
For the sauce:
- 3 T butter
- 10-20 leaves sage
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 1/2 c. crumbled gorgonzola
- black pepper
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
- Wash the sweet potatoes and poke all over with a fork. Microwave on high until tender, about 7 minutes per side. Cut in half and allow to cool.
- Scrape the potato out of the skin into a large bowl. Mash with fork. Add ricotta cheese and stir until well-blended. Add parmesan cheese, brown sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and stir until mixture is even.
- Add the flour a half cup at a time, incorporating slowly, until a soft dough is formed. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured counter.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion between your palms and the floured surface until it is a log with thickness of about 1 inch. Cut each log into 20 pieces. Gently press the tines of a fork into the tops of pieces. Place pieces on a floured pan to prevent sticking.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add about 2 T of salt, and return to boil. Boil the gnocchi in batches until tender – they are done cooking when they float to the surface of the pot. Re-salt between batches. Return cooked gnocchi to a clean, lightly oiled pan, and allow to stand at room temperature for up to 4 hours.
Sage-Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
- Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add sage leaves and garlic clove and allow to stand 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add cream, gorgonzola, and black pepper to taste, and stir until cheese is melted.
- Add gnocchi to skillet and coat with sauce, cooking until heated through.
Dining and Cooking