Thursday, February 23, 2012

Vegan sweet potato gnocchi!

When I saw sweet potato gnocchi on the menu of a local vegan joint I couldn't have been more excited! Sweet potatoes and pasta are two of my favorite foods (though, to be honest there are many). Unfortunately, the ones from the otherwise delicious vegan restaurant left something to be desired and ever since then I have been dying to make my own. My first try at gnocchi was a few years ago and I was so scarred by those water-logged heavy clumps that I haven't attempted since. I looked around online and found a blog that had a very basic recipe on it which inspired mine: http://vegansoulpower.blogspot.com/2010/11/step-by-step-sweet-potato-gnocchi.html

I overcame my gnocchi failure and the sweet potato gnocchi were a great success!! Here is the recipe:

Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi in buttery sauce:

Ingredients:
One large sweet potato (mine was probably a pound or two)
1 1/2 - 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Two pinches good quality sea salt
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon (I used Vietnamese cinnamon, mmm)
2 Tbsp Earth Balance
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried sage (or fresh, I just ran out)
1 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Wash sweet potato, prick with fork and bake on a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Peel off skin and run through a potato ricer (hopefully yours isn't rusted from 3 years of banishment) or mash. Add salt, 1/4 tsp sage, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Pile about a cup of flour on a board and top with potato mixture, work the two together with a fork. Once mixed, begin working and kneading the mixture with your hands, adding flour a little at a time just until your hands no longer stick to the dough.

Divide dough into 6 parts and roll each part into a log about 3/4 inch in diameter. Cut rectangles (1/2 inch by 3/4 inch) off the log, and if desired, dip your fork in flour and gently roll it across the rectangles to create the ridges (Do it, pasta tastes better with ridges!).



At this point, I froze half of the gnocchi on a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then dropped then into a freezer bag for a quick meal later, yum! To make the gnocchi from fresh or frozen, simply bring water to a boil in a large pot and reduce heat to medium-high, add salt then gently add gnocchi. Boil for about five minutes just until the float to the surface. Drain and set aside.



To make the sauce, heat a saucepan over medium-low with earth balance, add shallots, 1/2 tsp sage, salt, and pepper and saute for about five minutes just until the start to brown.


Add drained gnocchi to the pan and toss for a couple minutes. Add chopped parsley and serve.


That wasn't so hard now was it? And no soggy clumps here, phew!


Buon Apetito!

No comments:

Post a Comment