how i invented sweet potato gnocchi (sorta)

i spend a great deal of my time dreaming up new recipes though i'd like to think of it more as innovating rather than just pure purposeless daydreaming.  a couple weeks ago, i was craving gnocchi and being on a recent sweet potato kick, i experienced a "light bulb over the head" moment . . . why hasn't anyone thought of making sweet potato gnocchi?  my brilliance unfortunately was short-lived as i find out after a quick google search that well, sweet potato gnocchi exists.  it's on the menu of many restaurants (that i've eaten at) and has been featured in many magazines (that i subscribe to).  alas, though the idea wasn't mine, it seemed that it was about time that i try crafting these orange dumplings in my kitchen.

i thought that sweet potato gnocchi was going to be much like normal gnocchi.  simply substitute the amount of potatoes for the same amount of sweet potatoes.  so i started with about one pound of the sweet stuff, mashed it and started adding the flour.  if this was potato gnocchi, probably about one cup of flour would have done the trick but this was not potato gnocchi, this was sweet potato gnocchi and any good chef (not me obviously) would know that sweet potatoes are not nearly as starchy as normal potatoes.  two and a half cups of flour later, i still had a very sticky paste, nothing like the gnocchi i normally make.  but faced with eating a dumpling of almost pure flour, i decided it was time to try boiling what i had.  too sticky to roll out and cut, i used two spoons to shape the orange dough instead and dropped the dumplings into the pot of boiling water.  bracing myself for blobs as opposed to dumplings, i was pleasantly surprised when one by one each gnocchi came floating back up to the surface.  and after taking my first bite, i decided it was okay if just in my head, i thought of myself as the inventor of sweet potato gnocchi.

*sweet potato gnocchi with a sage and brown butter sauce*

serves 2

one pound sweet potatoes
two and half cups flour (more or less)
one teaspoon nutmeg
half cup butter
small handful of sage cut sweet potatoes into half inch cubes. place in a pot and fill with just enough cold water to cover potatoes.  bring water to boil and reduce heat to low-medium.  cook until sweet potatoes are tender and can be easily mashed with a fork.  drain and allow potatoes to steam off any remaining moisture for five minutes.  start boiling a pot of water for the gnocchi and preparing the brown butter.  melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  keep butter on heat until it turns brown and smells nutty.  pour the butter through a fine sieve to remove any solids that may have formed in the browning process.    mash potatoes.  add flour and nutmeg.  the dough will be sticky, so scrape two spoons against each other to form a dumpling shape.  drop the gnocchi into the boiling water.  gnocchi is ready when they float to the top.  add some fresh sage to brown butter.  toss with gnocchi.  they may not be gorgeous, but they will be light and filling and a gorgeous shade of orange.

Comments

[Nathan]

Wow, those look great! I love making gnocchi (my fave is with some mushrooms, arugula and truffle oil), but I also had never though of making sweet potato gnocchi. You are a genius!