I am a blessed momma, my kids love food and I don’t mean just typical “kid food” like pizza and chicken nuggets. We went out to a wonderful Italian restaurant in Asbury Park, Brando’s Citi Cucina, this past weekend and my 4 year old ordered basil gnocchi. He was given the choices like pizza, spaghetti and meatballs but chose gnocchi; I am lucky!!! After dinner he asked if we could make the “green gnocchi” again {I made spinach gnocchi a while back} so I of course said absolutely and maybe we’d try a new kind. I decided to make Sweet Potato Gnocchi with a simple Rosemary Garlic Butter.
Gnocchi are not difficult to make but are a little bit time consuming. There really isn’t much to the pasta dough here, its simply sweet potato, an egg, flour, cinnamon, salt and pepper. These gnocchi are beautiful little tender pillows of deliciousness! I love the combination of the sweetness of the potato with the rosemary and garlic infused butter. The butter is slowly cooked along with a couple sprigs of rosemary, crushed garlic cloves, salt and pepper. After the gnocchi are cooked in a pot of boiling water they are drained, tossed in with the butter and quickly sautéed until they develop a gorgeous light golden crust. I love biting into the gnocchi and first getting that golden crisp and then into the light and tender pasta. This dish is absolutely worth the effort and I can’t wait to try out even more varieties!
- 3 medium sized sweet potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1½ cups flour plus more for dusting
- ¼ - ½ tsp cinnamon
- salt & pepper
- For the Sauce:
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 1-2 sprigs rosemary
- 3-4 garlic cloves, smashed
- salt & pepper
- Cook the potatoes in the microwave and once cool enough to handle removed the skins. Mash the potatoes very well or if you have, press the potatoes through a ricer to avoid having any lumps in there.
- Add in the egg, flour, cinnamon, salt and pepper and mix until well combined. Form into a ball, dust lightly with flour and place into a bowl to rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Cut the dough round into 4 equal pieces. Roll each out into a ½ inch thick log {see photo below}.
- Cut the logs into 1 inch pieces, toss with flour just to coat each gnocchi. Roll each gnocchi on the back of a fork to get those lovely indentations. Refrigerate the gnocchi while you now make the sauce.
- Heat a large sauté pan over low heat. Add in the butter, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Once the butter is melted allow if to cook for about 15-20 minutes, gently swirling the pan to prevent burning. The butter will have a beautiful light golden color.
- Carefully drop the gnocchi into a pot of boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes then drain.
- Toss the gnocchi with the butter, crank the heat up to medium high and cook for a few minutes just until a light golden crust has formed on one of the sides of the gnocchi.
Ginnie
Mmm … I love gnocchi! This sounds so delicious – can’t wait to try the recipe:)
Angela LeMoine
Thanks Ginnie!!! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
I made gnocchi for the first time a couple of weeks ago, so I think sweet potato gnocchi should be next on my list! I love that you added a pinch of cinnamon, bet that tastes gorgeous – you could maybe even make it into a dessert version?!
Angela LeMoine
Thank you so much Becca! Oh, dessert gnocchi does sound wonderful!!!!