Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi has become one of my favorite things to eat over the years, and this vegan sweet potato gnocchi is one of my favorite variations. With the soft pleasant flavor of sweet potatoes, enhanced by the flavor of roasted garlic, this is a dish that makes taste buds happy.

When I was in college my courses were on the same campus as the culinary center. This meant that our cafeteria was staffed by budding chefs practicing their skills and ideas. This meant that meal time was a bit of a roulette wheel, both because plant based options could sometimes be limited, or non existent, and because the some of the things made were pretty out there.

One of the things I ended up trying while I was there was gnocchi. Which is basically potato pasta.  Potatoes are cooked and mashed and mixed with flour to make a dough and then boiled. After this they are sometimes fried, which is my personal favorite way of eating them.

Flavor wise I find gnocchi is similar to perogies which are one of my comfort foods. I guess that is why it has become something that I enjoy so much. I do not make it as often as some of the recipes on here because it does take a little bit of time. None of the steps are difficult at all, but it is definitely not something you just whip up in 20 minutes after work.

Despite being time consuming it is actually super easy to make, and turns out well every time. So for anyone looking to impress a date, this is a good one to have in your recipe box. It is not something you see every day, you know it will turn out, and it has the appearance of being fancy and difficult.

Plus you are going to make sweet potato gnocchi which just adds an extra bit of pizzazz, and a bunch of mouth watering flavor. Gnocchi is great, but sweet potato gnocchi is really awesome!! Infused with roasted garlic and a hint of turmeric, and then fried in a bit of vegan margarine this recipe is killer.

I hop you all enjoy it as much I do!

You Will Need:

• 1 Large Sweet Potato
• 3 Cloves of Garlic (Roasted)
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 1½-2 Cups Flour (Approx.)

How to Make Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi:

Begin by placing the sweet potato in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of backing add the cloves of garlic to the oven to roast. Remove both the sweet potato and garlic from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Now remove the skin of the sweet potato and place the flesh in a medium sized mixing bowl. The potato may still be quite warm so be careful when doing this.

Remove the skin of the of the garlic and place the cloves in a small dish. With a fork mash the roasted garlic cloves into a paste.

Add the mashed garlic, turmeric and salt to the bowl with the sweet potato. Mash the potato with a fork, making sure to mix in the other ingredients well.

Now begin adding flour to the sweet potato mixture. Begin by adding about ½ a cup and then stirring, then continue adding ¼ cup at a time. The amount of flour you will need will vary each time you make gnocchi depending on the size of the potato you use among other factors.

Keep adding flour until the mixture begins to become difficult to stir. At this point sprinkle some flour on the counter and remove the sweet potato gnocchi dough. Knead gently adding more flour as needed until the dough becomes workable.  You want to be able to handle it without difficulty, but you also do not want to add too much flour as this will cause the gnocchi to loose flavor and taste too doughy.

Break the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a strip about the diameter of your thumb. With a knife cut the strips into ½ inch pieces.

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the gnocchi, in batches of about 2 dozen pieces, to cook. You will know when they are done when they raise to the top, which should take about 2 or 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove.

Many people will eat the gnocchi at this stage, but I prefer to fry them in a pan with a little bit of vegan margarine. I find this gives them the perfect finishing touch and adds a nice crispy outside. Mmmmmm.

Now you can eat as is, dip it, or add vegetables and pasta sauce.

Let me know what your favorite way to eat sweet potato gnocchi is. I am always looking for great ideas to try!