Sweet Potato Gnocchi with a Walnut Cream Sauce

Gnocchi are really just the most fun pasta to make!

Growing up my mum would make a German version using leftover mashed potatoes.  Those little dumplings, crisped on the outside, covered in gravy or even just butter and cheese are pure comfort food. This post has been sponsored by Taste USA, an initiative to increase consumer awareness of what U.S. grown food and beverages are in season, and available in Canada.

Sweet Potato

Let’s take the traditional potato gnocchi (the word may infer knuckle or knot) dumpling and dress it up with the bright colour of sweet potato.  As we are in the middle of October, celebrating the colours of autumn just seems right.  Sweet Potatoes are high in nutrients, fibre, are good for gut health, have beta-carotene for good eyesight, can lower inflammation, and on and on!  Plus they just taste great! And thanks to the U.S. we can have access to sweet potatoes all year round.  I think we take for granted everything we find on our grocery store shelves.  But what we can’t grow enough of, or don’t have the climate for, the U.S. steps in, and supplies us with these fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables, produced with safety and sustainability as the focus.

You will pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, and roast them on a baking sheet until soft and fluffy inside, about 45-50 minutes. Yes, you can use a microwave (I don’t have one, so it’s not my first choice!) If you go the microwave route:

Wash sweet potatoes thoroughly, pat dry, and pierce 6-8 times with a fork. Place the potatoes on microwave-safe plate and microwave 5 minutes, turning halfway through. If your sweet potato isn’t fork tender after 5 minutes, continue microwaving in 30 second increments.  A knife should easily slide all the way in if it is tender.

Method for the Dough

Once roasted and cool enough to handle, you will remove the flesh from the skin (discard the skin) and transfer it to a bowl.  I like to run the sweet potato flesh through a potato ricer for perfectly fluffy bits with no lumps, but no worries if you don’t have one. A good masher or fork will work just fine.

Adding ricotta (or even smooth cottage cheese) will make the final gnocchi even more tender and fluffy.  Parmesan, salt, and white pepper add flavour.  And the flour for binding and creating the dough can be wheat or your favourite one for one gluten free blend. You will add the cheeses and seasonings first and mix till well blended and the sweet potato flesh is smooth.  Then the flour will be added in 1/2 additions and gently blended before more is added.  Do not overwork, or else the gnocchi will be tough once boiled.  You can knead it in the bowl, but then transfer to a floured counter for the final kneading to create a smooth ball of dough.  Shape it into a rough log.

You will take slices off the log about 1 inch thick.  Roll these on the counter gently stretching from the middle without tearing the dough until you have a long rope about 3/4 inch in diameter.  Slice off little dumplings about 1 inch wide.  If you don’t have a gnocchi board you can use a fork to roll these little cubes on, to create the classic ridges that hold on to any sauce beautifully.  Just push the cube over the tines or ridges on the board firmly while pushing and flicking it off.  This will create a little divot on the inside for optimum sauce capturing. Place these onto a semolina or cornmeal dusted baking sheet. Having said this, if you don’t feel like rolling them at all, these little cubes are fine unrolled, and can be prepped for the next step.  

Prepping the Gnocchi for Cooking or Freezing

So you have a baking sheet full of gnocchi.  Decide how many you want to eat immediately.  The rest will be transferred to a wax paper lined baking sheet.  Place this baking sheet into the freezer.  Once the gnocchi are frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag and store till needed.  Pull out as many as you desire going forward, since the initial freezing step will mean that they will not have frozen all clumped together.

Bring it all Together with a Walnut Cream Sauce

So now you have have our gnocchi rolled. Now what? Get a pot filled with generously salted water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add only as many gnocchi as will sit in one layer and let them simmer.  Once they rise to the surface they are done.  Transfer them with a spider or slotted spoon to a bowl. Drizzle them with a little olive oil. You will now coat them in the most sublime cream sauce made with luscious California walnuts, cream, garlic and rosemary.  The sauce comes together so easily while the gnocchi are resting. Save some of that precious pasta water.

After toasting the walnuts in the oven or in a large skillet till aromatic and lightly browned, transfer them to a bowl and chop them coarsely.  In the same pan butter will be melted and the garlic will cook down till fragrant.  Add the nuts, cream and rosemary and cook over a low heat till the cream thickens.  Then, push the walnuts and garlic to the side, add the gnocchi into the pan and toss to coat and take on a little crisping.  Add some of your reserved pasta water to help the sauce from getting too thick and cloying.  

Serve with a copious drizzle of Peccorino-Romano or Parmesan cheese and serve! The recipe below will feed 6-8 people.  Feel free to halve the recipe.  But why not still make all the gnocchi and freeze them!  This can be served as a meal, with a light salad on the side, or serve in smaller portions as a first course.

For an alternative sauce, try my Brown Butter Sage Sauce, it will be amazing over these gnocchi as well!

Print

Sweeet Potato Gnocchi with Walnut Cream Sauce

A wonderful Autumn meal of tender flavourful sweet potato gnocchi, basking in a just rich enough walnut rosemary cream sauce. Just add cheese, and wine!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, North American

Keyword garlic, parmesan cheese, rosemary, sweet potato, walnuts, whipped cream

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

Gnocchi

• 1 lb U.S. grown sweet potato, about 450 grams
• 1 cup whole ricotta or smooth cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 1/4 cup flour plus more for the dusting, can substitute cup for cup gluten free flour blend

Walnut Cream Sauce

• 2 1/4 cups whole California Walnuts
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• salt
• coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese

Instructions

Gnocchi

1. Preheat the oven to 425F
2. Pierce the sweet potato all over with a fork, and wrap in foil.
3. Bake in the oven till completely tender, about 1 hour. Alternatively you can use a microwave if you have one.

4. Scoop the flesh out of the sweet potato and place it in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper and blend till almost smooth. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating it gently before adding the next amount. Do not over-knead, this will cause the final gnocchi to be tough. Using your fingers instead of your full hand or a wooden spoon will help.

5. Place a baking sheet covered with a thin layer of semolina flour or cornmeal on it nearby.
6. Transfer the dough to a floured counter once the dough is holding together nicely. Pat it together to form a log of sorts.
7. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut off a 1 inch section. Place this in front of you and use your palms to roll it out into a long rope. The diameter should be around 3/4 inch.
8. Take a knife and cut little squares about 3/4-1 inch long. From here you can transfer the little cubes directly onto the prepared baking sheet. Or you can roll the cubes over the tines of a fork or over a gnocchi board. The ridges will help hang on to sauce once boiled, but they are not absolutely necessary for a successful gnocchi experience!
9. Place a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water in batches to avoid overcrowding and let them simmer till they rise to the top of the water. Once they are there, use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer them to a bowl or plate and drizzle with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together. Continue until you have cooked the amount of gnocchi you want to eat.
10. Reserve 1/2 cup of the gnocchi water.

Walnut Cream Sauce

1. Toast the walnuts on a baking sheet in a 400F oven till fragrant and lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Cool and chop coarsely. Set aside. This can be done in advance.
2. In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the garlic over medium heat till aromatic and just taking on a colour. Add the chopped nuts, cream and rosemary. Reduce the heat to low and cook till the cream thickens, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Push the walnuts and garlic to the edges of the skillet and add in the gnocchi to the centre of the pan. Allow them to warm through in the cream sauce and take on a bit of crispness on their exterior. Add gnocchi water to help the sauce from becoming too thick and cloying. Season with more salt and pepper as desired.
4. Serve, with a copious amount of grated cheese on top!

Recipe Notes

Toast the walnuts in advance, even the day before, chop and store in a sealed container.

Feel free to halve the recipe to feed four. Or you can make the entire batch of gnocchi and freeze what you don't need.

To freeze: Take the gnocchi from the semolina dusted baking sheet and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Place this in a freezer. Once frozen, transfer the gnocchi to a freezer bag.