Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Here in Australia, the nights are starting to cool down a little which means many of us are reaching for something warm to eat for dinner. As you ladies know, I love to eat pasta so I wanted to share a yummy gnocchi recipe with you all.

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• Sweet potato gnocchi recipe
• Ingredients
• Method

Now, this isn’t just any gnocchi! It is actually sweet potato gnocchi — so the little dumplings are a bit sweeter and a vibrant colour too. 

If you’ve read my blog on healthy types of pasta, you may already know that rich sauces can increase the fat content of a bowl of pasta. With this gnocchi sauce, there are lots of vegetables and herbs included for extra nutrients with minimal fat.  

Give this gnocchi recipe a try and see what you think!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe

It does take a little extra time to make gnocchi from scratch but honestly, it is so worthwhile! If you have a bit of time up your sleeve, make sure you give this sweet potato gnocchi recipe a try.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 65 mins
Total time:  80 mins
Serves: 2
Dietary preferences: Vegetarian, Nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• oil spray
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ¼ medium onion, diced finely
• ¼ medium carrot, grated finely
• 8 sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 350ml tomato passata
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 30g reduced-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 large handful baby spinach
• 140g wholemeal plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• Shaved parmesan cheese, to garnish
• fresh parsley, chopped, to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Poke a few holes in the sweet potato using a fork. Place it on the prepared baking tray and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool. 
3. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick fry pan over medium heat and spray lightly with oil spray. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes or until the onion starts to soften, stirring occasionally. Add the carrot and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
4. Add the sundried tomatoes and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant, then add the tomato paste and passata, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly then add the ricotta cheese, stirring to combine. Stir through the spinach and remove from the heat. 
5. When the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, and place the flesh in a bowl. Using a potato masher or fork, mash the flesh until smooth.
6. Transfer the sweet potato to a clean surface, and make a well in the centre. Place the flour into the well and gently combine the flour and sweet potato with your hands until a dough is formed.
7. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll out each piece into 2.5 cm or 1-inch thick ropes, adding more flour to the surface if the dough is too sticky. Cut ropes into 2.5cm or 1 inch pieces. Use a fork to stamp ridges in each piece of gnocchi, if desired.
   
   
8. Fill a large saucepan with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Add the gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the top. Remove the saucepan from the heat and drain the liquid. Add the tomato and spinach sauce to the saucepan and return to a lower heat for 2-3 minutes to heat through.  
9. To serve, divide the sweet potato gnocchi over 2 serving bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Try this creamy sweet potato gnocchi recipe

For anyone not following a vegetarian diet, you can combine some sliced chicken at the end to make a super tasty and filling chicken and gnocchi dinner. If you prefer not to eat cheese, you could sprinkle some nutritional yeast on top of this dish. Alternatively, you can add vegetable stock instead of ricotta to achieve the right consistency with the sauce. Add between 60-100ml of stock to the sauce slowly in place of the ricotta in step 4.   

I’ve been thinking about sharing some more gnocchi recipes with you all — would you prefer to see a gnocchi soup recipe or some healthy gnocchi sauce recipes instead? Make sure you let me know in the comments!

Love, Kayla xx