Sweet Potato Ricotta Gnocchi

Gnocchi.

It's easily one of my favorite "pasta dishes. These fluffy little potato pillows melt in your mouth and can be paired with so many fun sauce and meal combinations. Pesto, brown butter, tomato sauce, meat sauce, soups, baked, pan fried the list goes on and I love all of them! This funny little dumpling gets it name from the Italian word nocca which means 'knuckles".  Do you see knuckles when you look at these little guys? All I see is a plate full of happiness. I also see happiness when I look at cats... meow - it's the little things in life y'all.

To preface this post, this was my very first experience making gnocchi. I am certainly not going to pretend that I am an expert gnocchi maker and that I got this recipe from an Italian grandmother (largely because I don't have one). But let me just tell you how easy and fun it was to make these little babies. Aside from my hands being caked in an orangish dough this gnocchi required minimal effort and the pay off was so worth it. Now I will admit that before this I felt absolutely zero shame in going to my local super market and picking up a pack of that vacuumed sealed gnocchi. I thought I had found the real deal, but no. After making this I realized how gummy, chewy, and overly starchy my once favorite gnocchi was. Guess we have another thing to thank preservatives for, right?! I have now come to realize that my life has essentially been a shame thus far, and knowing that I can create a dazzling product with just a few simple ingredients is so worth it.

Speaking of ingredients. Good gnocchi should be able to be made with as few ingredients as possible. If your potatoes are cooked the right way, and yes there is a right way, they should should be so soft that when mashing them they almost turn into baby food. With all that additional moisture you should be able to form your dough with just the potatoes, flour, and salt. But I'm a rebel and couldn't stand the thought of just making your old run of the mill gnocchi - no, I just had to be special so I added heaps and heaps of whole milk ricotta and a few chives to my dough for just a little extra flare.

Now just to spice things up a little more I decided that my little gnocchi babies were going to get bathed in a nutty and delicious brown butter. I know, I know. You are all probably asking yourself why you didn't get invited to this one person dinner party? Well, because then it wouldn't be a one person party and also because it would have really sucked if these things didn't turn out good. Thankfully they did.

The end product is a fluffy, beautiful gnocchi that melts in your mouth and leaves you desirous for more. Try it for yourself and tell me that I'm wrong. I dare you.

Sweet Potato Ricotta Gnocchi with Brown Butter

Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min          Cook Time: 15 min          Yield: 8 servings 

Ingredients:

Gnocchi Dough
3 and 1/4 cups of flour plus additional for kneading.
12 oz whole milk ricotta
1 sweet potato peeled and cubed
1 yukon gold potato peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
herbs of your choice - I added some chives because I had them but fresh thyme would also be tasty

Brown Butter
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper


Directions:

In a large pot bring your water to a boil and add a generous amount of salt. Add your sweet potatoes and yukon potato and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes can be pierced and mashed. Drain and allow to cool.

Once the potatoes have cooled mash them until smooth and add 12 oz of whole milk ricotta, herbs of your choice, and 1 tsp of salt. Mix the ricotta, potatoes, herbs, and salt until well combined.

In 1 cup additions begin to add the flour. Don't over mix the dough. If you start kneading up a storm and activate the glutens in the flour you can and will end up with a stiff dough which will not be conducive for the adequate gnocchi experience.

Once you have a smooth dough ball cut it into 8th's. Now this recipes makes a lot of gnocchi, but thats ok because this dough should last in the refrigerator for about a week. Once you have your fraction of the dough ball add a little extra flour to your counter top and begin to roll it out into a long snake - you know like what you did with play dough as a kid?! You can determine how plump you want your gnocchi to be - I personally like them a little larger.

Cut your gnocchi into bite size pieces then with the back of a fork, roll the gnocchi downwards to create those pretty ridges. Fun fact of the day. In case you all didn't know the ridges of pasta do in fact have an actual job. They are responsible for holding the sauce on the pasta!

Once you have all your gnocchi cut and rolled place them on a baking pan dusted with some extra flour and let them rest for 30-40 min. Yes you have to wait. I think by doing this it allows the dough to relax which lends to that "melt in your mouth" feeling and tenderness of the dumpling. But if you are just starving then go ahead and boil those babies. You'll know your gnocchi is done when it floats to the top of the water - it only took about 3-4 minutes for mine.

Towards the end of the resting period and before you cook your gnocchi you can begin to make your brown butter sauce. In a large skillet add your butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. Allow the butter to brown but do not burn it! By browning the butter you are allowing it to take on a delightful nutty flavor. Yum.

Once your gnocchi are done bubbling away add the dumplings directly from the simmering water to the brown butter sauce and combine well. Do not drain your gnocchi, actually don't ever drain your pasta. The additional starchy water that is clinging to your gnocchi in addition to the butter will make a creamy, velvetey sauce across the pasta.

Top with some extra herbs, maybe a dollop of fresh ricotta, or a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

Try this recipe and tell me what you think.

By the way - for previous readers, I am in the process of revamping this site and redoing many of the recipes that I have posted in the past. Don't be alarmed if one of your favorites is gone; it will be back soon!

Stay sassy,
Jules