Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour (this could vary depending on the size of the sweet potatoes)
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated
½ teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg
Directions
Start by steaming two large sweet potatoes. I cut them before cooking them, I know I shouldn’t do that (as you might lose some nutrients) but it makes the whole process faster.
Cook them until a knife easily pushes through (also, it’s better to overcook than under). Remove from steamer and let to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Remove skins and place the orange flesh in a bowl (it will still be a little warm).
Add salt, the parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmeg and stir together until well-incorporated.
Begin adding flour here. You can start with probably about 1 and fold it in until well mixed. Continue adding flour until dough ball has lost maybe almost all if its stickiness.
When you stick a finger in it, it will barely give back a little push rather than making a perfect mold of your finger. Taste the dough to make sure it has enough salt.
Turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface. Knead it up into a tighter ball.
Don’t worry about incorporating more flour, use what you need so that it doesn’t stick to the table or your hands.
Cut it into four smaller pieces and set each to the side.
Begin rolling each quarter into a long tube. You’ll probably need to use little sprinkles of flour here and there to keep it from sticking. Ideally, you’ll roll it until it’s about as thick as your finger, but if you’re having too much trouble with breaking, just stop where you are. If it does break, just pinch it all back together. Don’t forget to use whatever flour you need.
Cut the tube into little nubs and set to the side. It’s not a problem if the nubs have flour on them. Again, avoiding sticking is your first motive.
Dust a fork with flour. Then, hold the fork in one hand with the prongs facing away from you. Grab a little dumpling and use your thumb to apply slight pressure to it against the base of the prongs and gently push it away from you along the fork. It should roll off softly with utmost elegance (that’s how my nanny use to do it, I’m not as elegant as she was but the result was quite satisfactory!)
Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and boil until they float and dance around in the boil. Don’t overcrowd the pot (you can fit an entire dough tube in one gallon).
Remove the gnocchi from the water with a strainer and serve with your favorite sauce. As far as I’m concerned my absolutely favorite way to have them is with canola oil (or butter), sage and grated parmesan cheese.