Sweet Potato Gnocchi!!

So, I told my boss today that I made sweet potato gnocchi last night. His response? "What's gnocchi?" REALLY? I didn't know that people didn't know what this was!

Well, in case anyone doesn't, this is what it is: Small dumplings made from potato, semolina, or flour, usually served with a sauce. It is usually an Italian dish and many Italian restaurants have at least one gnocchi dish on it. (I hope I didn't get this information wrong and offend anyone!!)

And it's delicious!!

So, we had a few sweet potatoes lying around the kitchen that I didn't know what to do with. My husband is getting sick of the one way I like them - in the balsamic vinegar glaze. So I went to the Net. I was planning on searching for a fry recipe or something, but then stumbled upon the gnocchi recipe. With just a few ingredients and steps, I decided I HAD to try it.

It started out easy enough - but let me tell you - this is a messy, messy project, unless I did it wrong. I had flour and sweet potato all over my hands and kitchen counters. I probably made some gnocchi's too fat or too thin, but in the end, it came out tasting fantastic and both my husband and I really enjoyed it for tonight's dinner.

He melted some margarine to put on his - it was good, and I could also see putting a little Parmesan cheese on that as well. I used Ragu's Light Parmesan Alfredo Sauce and it was really good.

I highly recommend making this. It's easy, but not something to make quickly after work. One reason is because you need to bake the sweet potatoes in the oven for at least 40 minutes. Rolling and cutting the dough took some time for me as well, but I might have just been having stupid difficulties. It cooks up very fast in boiling water though!

So give it a try and let me know what you think!!

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) sweet potatoes
1 clove garlic, pressed (or 1/2 tsp minced garlic)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake sweet potatoes for at least 40-45 minutes, or until soft to the touch.

Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool. (If they aren't getting soft fast enough, pop them in the microwave for another minute or 2 and then let them cool. They will be soft after that!)

Once the potatoes are cool enough to work with, remove the peels and mash them into a large bowl.

Blend in the garlic, salt, nutmeg, and egg. Mix in the flour a little at a time until you have soft dough. Use more or less flour as needed. (I needed to use both cups).

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While you wait for the water, make the gnocchi.

On a floured surface, roll the dough out in several long snakes, and cut into 1-inch sections.

Drop the pieces into the boiling water, and allow them to cook until they float to the surface.

Remove the floating pieces with a slotted spoon. Serve warm with butter or cream sauce!!