Supple, earthy, bite-size morsels of sweet potato gnocchi that can be made at home? Believe it or not but these delicious gnocchi are relatively easy to prepare. Traditional gnocchi pale in comparison to these flavourful gnocchi, which can be paired with a simple sauce of butter, extra virgin olive oil, a few basil leaves, and a ton of Parmesan cheese!
Gnocchi (pronounced “NYO-kee”) means ‘dumplings’ in Italian. Small, fluffy morsels of pasta, prepared by hand with love…and a little bit of patience! Gnocchi have always been reminiscent of my childhood, of spending Sundays at my Nonna’s house, who spent the majority of her time in the kitchen, preparing everything from scratch for the family.
Nowadays, gnocchi seem to have a reputation for being pretentious-thanks to expensive Italian restaurants who have been overpricing this simple Italian classic on their menus. Consequently the mainstream assumption is that they are also difficult to make-but in reality they’re neither!
Anyone can make gnocchi. Just a little mixing and kneading yields these tender, pillowy morsels, rustic enough to serve the family, yet elegant enough to serve at a dinner party.
But, I’ll be honest with you. This is definitely not the recipe you want to take on on a busy school night. Although they are easy to prepare, the recipe requires time and a little bit of patience. That said, if you have a stash of these stored in the freezer then you are good to go on a busy weeknight. Just remove from the freezer, throw in a pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes, and voila! Dinner is served!
I made the mistake of preparing these in a rush so uniformity and aesthetics went out the window. If you have the time you can be more precise about the shape of the gnocchi, by running a fork over them to get those signature grooves.
I’d like to think that this recipe is my tiny contribution to modern Italian cuisine (at the home chef level, of course). To prove my point, I lived in Italy for almost four years, and have traveled (and eaten) extensively all over the Boot. And not once have I seen sweet potato gnocchi on a menu, nor served in a home. It’s quite possible one might find this recipe contradictory-traditional in terms of preparation, yet not-so traditional in terms of ingredients. But, who cares? A little sweet potato never hurt anyone, don’t you agree?
If you try this recipe (and love it!) be sure to snap a pic and tag me onInstagram with #bitesforfoodies so I can see your creation!
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