Print

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Butter Sauce

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons light butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Poke holes all over your sweet potato using a fork and microwave for 8-10 minutes, or until the sweet potato is very tender when pierced with a fork or knife
  2. Remove from the microwave and let cool to room temperature (this process is made faster by cutting the potato in half, and it’s made even faster [if you’re really impatient like me :)] by scooping the sweet potato out of the skin, placing it on a plate, and putting the plate in the freezer)
  3. When the sweet potato is cool, scoop all of the potato out of the skin if you haven’t already done so and place in the center of a large bowl. Make a little well in the middle of the potatoes and add your egg
  4. Add the ricotta on top of the egg and add your flour around the sweet potato
  5. Using a fork, whisk the sweet potato, egg, and ricotta together, slowly letting the flour mix in too. This kind of ends up happening all at once, so don’t worry about being precise with the “slowly mixing flour in” step
  6. Switch to mixing with your hands once the fork becomes ineffective, and mix/knead your dough until it has started to come together, and then dump it all out onto your counter
  7. Mix and knead with your hands until the dough has formed a solid, smooth ball
  8. Slice the ball into 3 or 4 portions and roll each portion out into a thin tube. There’s no exact size here, but I’d say about 3/4 inch to 1 inch wide is a safe bet
  9. Slice your rolls into small, bite sized gnocchi pieces. If you want the design that is shown in the pictures above, just roll each gnocchi piece over a fork to get that little pattern. Makes no difference in the final flavor or texture, but it looks pretty :)
  10. Bring a pot of salted (it should taste like the ocean) water to boil over high heat
  11. When the water is boiling and you’re ready to add your gnocchi, get started on your sauce first so it’s ready when the gnocchi is done
  12. In a large skillet add all your sauce ingredients except for the maple syrup (butter, olive oil, thyme, and garlic) and cook over medium – medium high heat, letting everything infuse
  13. Add your gnocchi to the boiling water, and remove the pieces as they float (that’s how you know they’re done). You’ll remove them in batches as the gnocchi floats to the top (a sieve is great for this, but a slotted spoon works too)
  14. Add the gnocchi straight into your sauce and let it sear in the hot sauce for a few minutes, stirring every now and then, just until it turns a nice golden brown on at least one side. Don’t leave it in your pan too long or the gnocchi itself will overcook
  15. When you’ve seared your gnocchi and you’re ready to take it off the burner, drizzle your maple syrup over everything and stir around, letting it all cook together for about thirty seconds or so
  16. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve!

Nutrition