Sweet potato gnocchi recipe with walnut sauce

  • 3

    Serving

  • Prep time

    Prep Time 25'

  • Prep time

    Total Time 40'

  • Prep time

    Easy

  • Prep time

    Vegan

recipe banner
  • 3

    Serving

  • Prep time

    Prep Time 25'

  • Prep time

    Total Time 40'

  • Prep time

    Easy

  • Prep time

    Vegan

The new

For us, the true joy of any creative endeavour is the way that an extremely subtle shift can open up a whole expanse of possibilities. For instance, discovering a hue that complements what you have in your wardrobe makes all of your familiar, favourite pieces look different. This is where mechanical processes are supplemented with fresh energy. As you become a better cook, the basic sourcing, chopping, and stirring become more innate to you, but you will need to bring in new ideas and ingredients to keep things stimulating.

Sweetening the potato

Sweet potato has been a revelation to us in this way as we move away from starchy and greasy comfort foods towards healthier, but no less nurturing, flavours. Many stodgy but lovely dishes that we thought would be relegated to nostalgia have been re-birthed thanks to this orange root vegetable. A vegan version of shepherd's pie, made with lentils and topped with sweet potato, is a new regular in our freezer. It's easy to make in advance and perfect for a midweek supper or lazy Sunday. This is the dish that we now bring to ill or recuperating friends, and has been met with enthusiasm by everyone from diehard vegans to old-fashioned traditionalists.

La dolce potato vita

We're now applying the powers of the sweet potato to our Italian favourites. The earthy simplicity, elegance, and passion of Italian cuisine is unmatched in our book, but can be quite challenging when seeking to reduce the presence of gluten, dairy, and unhealthy carbs in your diet. These sweet potato gnocchi are as smooth and satisfying as gnocchi made with white potatoes. Instead of topping them with a pesto made from cheese, we've added Erbology Walnut Oil to a gremolata of walnuts, garlic, thyme, and lemon to infuse the gnocchi with rich flavour. You really do feel the difference right away when you replace white potatoes with their easier to digest cousin. The gratifying, bolstering substance of potatoes remains wholly intact, but the heaviness and bloat vanishes. There's no need to sink back thickly into your seat upon finishing. Instead, you'll feel ready to go out and conquer; your palate will be enlivened rather than coated. Sweet potatoes don't come immediately to mind when thinking about Italian dishes, but they are highly compatible with more identifiably Italian ingredients such as basil, tomato, olives, wild fennel seed, pine nuts, lemon, rosemary, and more. With this realisation, your entire comprehension of what makes something taste Italian just might shift. Revisiting old Italian favourites may become newly alluring. Dream up other sauces and toppings for your gnocchi... if you still eat some dairy, you could experiment with more traditional pesto sauces.

Kneading the sweet potato gnocchi

To maximise the pleasure of this dish, give yourself plenty of time to work the dough. Smoothing out lumps, blending the flour completely into the potato, rolling, and shaping into smaller rounds to delicately dust with flour is surprisingly therapeutic, especially if you spend a good portion of your days staring at an electronic screen. La dolce potato vita, indeed!

Ingredients

Sweet potato gnocchi

  • 1 cooked sweet potato, peeled
  • 2-3 cups mixed flour, depending on the size of the sweet potato (I used ½ white wheat flour, ½ semolina flour. For a gluten-free version, use your favourite gluten-free flour mix)
  • Pinch of salt

Walnut sauce

  • 1 cup Erbology Organic Transylvanian Walnuts, hydrated overnight
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • Big pinch of salt
  • ¼ garlic clove
  • 3-4 fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tsp Erbology Organic Walnut Oil
  • ½ cup filtered water
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Slice of lemon

Typical nutrition / serving

  • Size: 457 g
  • Serv. size: 15 g

Here's how you make it

  1. Mash the sweet potato with a fork or potato masher.
  2. Add the salt and mixed flour, one cup at a time. Depending on the size of your potato, you might need more or less.
  3. Knead to a soft, elastic dough but be careful with the ratio of potato to flour. If there is too much flour, the gnocchi will be too hard and sticky. Semolina flour is a great ingredient in the mix because it helps the mixture to become fluffier.
  4. Round the dough or shape it into a long roll, then cut into small pieces. Using your hands and a fork or a gnocchi board, shape each gnocchi and place on a plate, dusted with flour.
  5. To cook, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
  6. Meanwhile, prepare the walnut sauce by placing all the ingredients in a blender. Blend well and put aside.
  7. When the water is boiling, add the gnocchi, a few at a time. They are cooked when they rise to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon.
  8. Drain excess water, put in a bowl and pour the walnut sauce over them.
  9. Place the gnocchi on plates and  garnish with fresh herbs and a slice of lemon. Enjoy!
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