There is a very traditional way to making and shaping gnocchi. This is not it. First off, I am using sweet potatoes as the base; then I mixed in a little spice and cheese to increase the flavor. I’ve simplified the process slightly and when cooking, I made sure to sauté until the outside was perfectly crispy while the inside stayed pillowy soft. I ate these delicious treats with sautéed collard greens, sweet leeks, and lots of fresh thyme.
1 lb. of peeled sweet potatoes: steamed and mashed. (turns into about 2 cups)
½ cup whole milk ricotta
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
Freshly ground pepper
1 ½ cups of flour, plus more
Mash the sweet potato in a bowl with a fork. Mix in the ricotta, parmesan, salt, and nutmeg. Then gently mix in the egg. Measure 1 cup of the flour out onto a clean work surface. Pour the sweet potato mixture right onto the flour and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of flour on top. Carefully begin to knead the flour and potato mixture together until a very soft dough is formed. This should take less than a minute, you do not want to overwork the dough. Divide it into 4 equal pieces, working with one at a time. Generously flour your work surface and roll one section of the dough into a long log. Cut into ½ inch chunks and lay the small pieces on a well floured surface.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. You can work in batches and drop the cut gnocchi into the boiling water, they will sink to the bottom and then float to the surface when they are ready to come out, this will take about 2 minutes. Remove them from the water and place on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Continue rolling, cutting, and boiling the remaining gnocchi dough.
Sautéed Greens:
6 Tbsp butter
2 leeks, sliced into thin coins
1 large bunch of collard greens, de-stemmed and sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp of fresh thyme leaves
In a large sauté pan over medium low heat, melt the butter and cook the leeks, collard greens, garlic, and thyme until everything is soft. Add a little salt and pepper.
Bring it all together:
Heat a saucepan to medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Begin to sauté some of the boiled gnocchi in a single layer, stirring and flipping the gnocchi so they become slightly browned on all sides. Serve with the sautéed collard greens and a little grated parmesan cheese on top.
Recipe and photos by Meghan Feilmeier
Follow her on Instagram: @meghan_moves and @meghan_feilmeier_photography
