Recipe: Simple Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Looking for a cooking project? Making Sweet Potato Gnocchi is just like messing around with PlayDough but you're actually allowed to eat it.

Homemade pasta of any kind may seem daunting, but is incredibly simple and comes together pretty quickly once your sweet potatoes have roasted. It's much easier than traditional pasta too, since you don't need any special tools.

Sometimes I'll roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and store them in the fridge so I can whip up a batch of gnocchi even faster. The dough will feel a little sticky once you add the flour, and you can definitely add more if you want, but try to avoid over-flouring it in order to keep the texture light and fluffy. I've also subbed gluten-free all-purpose flour 1:1 for regular flour if you want to make this recipe gluten free.

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes

2 C all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 T salt

1 t pepper

1 T olive oil

2 T butter

1/2 C Everyday Pesto or 1/4 C fresh sage

1/4 C parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes in half, brush with olive oil, and place face down on a baking sheet.

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, testing with a fork until you can slide it in without forcing it.

4. Scrape the sweet potato guts into a large bowl and mash them with a fork until they resemble a puree.

5. Add the egg, salt, and pepper and mash again.

6. Pour in 1 cup of flour and stir.

7. Roll up your sleeves and mix the dough with your hands, adding flour in ¼ cup increments.

8. Dust the counter top with extra flour and divide the dough into 5 or 6 pieces.

9. Roll out each piece into a ½-inch thick rope.

10. Cut into 1-inch pieces and make an indent with a fork.

11. Fill a large pot with water and ½ tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil.

12. Heat a skillet to medium with butter and sage if using.

13. Drop the gnocchi into water in batches.

14. When the gnocchi rises to the top of the water, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and transfer it to the heated skillet.

15. Once the gnocchi is browned on both sides, enjoy with a healthy scoop of Everyday Pesto and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.