A whole new light

I have come to experience potato in a whole new light…how I left this long to make gnocchi, let alone even try it until now is beyond me.

I should have made these on National Potato Day! I’m not exactly a traditional potato lover…mash never did it for me though a baked sweet potato or sweet potato wedges never fail to delight the taste buds. So good as side or a snack with a drizzle of tahini or a scoop of almond butter.

And so I deviate…the sweet potato gnocchi was inspired by Gina over at Running to the Kitchen! My mix and serving of the gnocchi was quite a contrast but the whole idea of making gnocchi with sweet potato was incredibly appealing! She is one of my favourite food bloggers, amazing photographer with ingenious ideas, she never fails to inspire!

Gina also put together a fantastic video demonstrating how to roll the gnocchi and get the common for marks! So helpful! I never would of known this was how the marks were achieved! I would have given the gnocchi a press down with my fork in the hope of achieving the same affect!

So back to my gnocchi…

I used a mixture of chickpea and wholegrain spelt flour, with the mashed sweet potatoes…a little seasoning, a dash of cinnamon, nothing more nothing less. I couldn’t believe how easily them came together. Almost as easy as the sweet potato falafels (clearly I’m on a sweet potato buzz at the moment!)

The dough was incredibly easy to work with, cooks in a matter of minutes and worked wonderfully when wrapped up in a delicious creamy “cheesy” tomato sauce! I made a hefty enough portion but I actually could have eaten double the amount! They were incredibly “moreish”.

Of course a sprinkling of fresh basil (taken from yet another basil plant…I’ve lost track of how many have died in my care at this point) was called for.

Such a fantastic alternative for both the pasta and sweet potato lovers out there! I felt like such an achievement to have made something so tasty in such a quick amount of time with virtually no effort! I will definitely be experimenting with some new mixes and varieties

Have you ever tried gnocchi? Ever made it yourself?

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

 Print this easy peasy recipe

Servings –1

Preparation Time – 5 minutes

Cooking Time – 15 minutes

Ingredients

Gnocchi

• 1 small sweet potato cooked and mashed until perfectly smooth (approx. 150g)
• 1/3 cup (40g) wholegrain spelt flour
• 1 tbsp – 1.5 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Sauce

• 80ml (1/3 cup) Passata
• 3 sundried tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3 tbsp almond milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Mix Ins – 5-6 baby plum tomatoes & 2 tbsp diced roasted red pepper
• Fresh basil to serve

Directions

1. Fill a pot with boiling water and leave boiling while you prepare the gnocchi.
2. Roast or grill the diced red pepper and whole baby plum tomatoes for 10 – 15 minutes; I roasted mine in the oven at 180C (350F) for 15 minutes.
3. Place all sauce ingredients in another pot, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare and cook the gnocchi. Blend until smooth before serving.
4. Mix together nutritional yeast, flours, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Add to sweet potato and bring together to form a soft dough; it should be soft but not sticky.
5. Divide dough in two and knead a little until smooth. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to form two even lengths of dough. Cut in to 1/2-1 inch sections. This recipe yields between 10-12 pieces.
6. Set gnocchi to one side on some parchment paper.
7. Leave as it is or roll on a fork, pressing down on the upper side to form even indents.
8. Drop gnocchi pieces in to the pot of boiling water gently; a big pot is preferable. Allow to cook until they float to the surface – about 3-5 minutes.
9. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add gnocchi to the blended sauce along with the roasted plum tomatoes and diced red pepper.
10. Serve garnish with fresh basil and a simple green side salad.

Tagged as: chickpea flour, gluten free, gnocchi, healthy, sweet potato, vegan, vegetarian, wheat free