Sweet Potato Gnocchi

(serves 4)

This is my go to “easy” pasta (inspired by Chrissy Teigen‘s recipe) that I can make on a week night. The trick is to cook the sweet potato in advance so you don’t have to waste any time! I don’t have too much to say about this recipe besides that they are literal little, fluffy pockets of heaven and extremely addicting. This is probably my most requested recipe to share, so I just knew it had to go up on the blog. The best part is, you don't need to a Kitchen Aid or pasta machine to make this.

Plus the savory brown butter sage sauce is the very definition of salted butter!

Ingredients:

- 2 cooked sweet potatoes (about 1 lb each)

- 2/3 cup whole milk ricotta

- 1 1/2 cups flour + 1/2 cup more for sprinkling (I like 00 flour, but all-purpose is perfectly fine)

- Pinch of nutmeg

- Salt and pepper to taste

- (brown butter sage sauce - below)

Instructions:

Start by pre-cooking the sweet potatoes in the microwave or the oven. I like to do this the night before so it is ready to go when I get home from work. To prep the potatoes, give it a good scrub in in the sink with water to remove all of the dirt. Stab the potatoes a few times with a fork to prevent it from bursting while cooking. If you go the microwave route, cook it on high for 7-10 minutes until they're soft. If you decide to use the oven, cook at 400 degrees for about an hour (or until soft). My preference is the oven because I feel like the flavors develop much better, which results in a richer dough.

Once cooled, remove the skin from the potato and mash up in a bowl with a fork (or mixer). Mix in ricotta, and then then add sifted flour in separate 3 batches. Add in your salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.

Dump the dough onto a floured counter. This is a very wet and sticky dough, so don’t be afraid to have a heavily floured surface. Roll dough into a ball so that it is not sticky to touch. I use about another 1/4 cup of flour during this process. Next, divide dough into 8 (somewhat equal pieces). Each piece should then be rolled into approximately 12” long pieces and then cut into approximately 1” pieces. Make sure your knife is dipped in flour to prevent striking and dust the cut pieces in flour to prevent sticking to each other. Here you will use the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.

Remove the excess flour and boil the pasta in salted water. They are done once they float to the top. This happens quickly, about 3-5 minutes. You can toss the gnocchi in your favorite sauce from here, but I like to sauté them in a brown butter sage sauce (below).

Tip: Use 00 flour when making pasta. This

is a trick I learned at a pasta making class in Italy. 00 is a very finely ground flour that allows for a lighter dough. If you don't have 00 or can't find it in the store, all-purpose is perfectly fine!

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of butter, salted

- Handful of sage leaves (I like to go heavy)

- Pinch of nutmeg

- Salt, pepper and grated Parmesan to taste

Instructions:

Melt the butter over med to high heat in pan, constantly stirring (I like to use cast iron, but any pan is fine). Once butter becomes foamy, lower to medium heat and toss in torn sage, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook until the leaves become crispy. Add in the gnocchi and toss until evenly coated, let sizzle for 5 mins or so and top with grated Parmesan.

With all this wonderful butter, make sure it’s salted!