Sweet Potato Gnocchi

It’s time. Time to give you my favorite recipe ever.  I’ve been making it for about four years now and you can usually find a bag of the uncooked gnocchi in my freezer at all times. This recipe creates gnocchi that are fluffy and packed with flavor. Sauteing them in brown butter gives them a great texture – crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I’ve never met any gnocchi lover who didn’t go crazy for them. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t love gnocchi. Anyone?

These photos are from the most recent gnocchi making episode when I tripled the recipe to make enough for 20 people for New Year’s. It took all the baking sheets in both beach houses to hold them all!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage
Serves 10-12 as a primi piatti

2 1-pound sweet potatoes, rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over
1 12-oz. container fresh ricotta cheese, drained 2 hours
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 oz.)
2 tbsp. packed golden brown sugar
2 tsp. plus 2 tbsp. salt
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 ¾ cups (about) all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (I can’t ever bear to use this much. It has been great with much less.)
6 tbsp. chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 tsp. salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about ½ cup at a time, until soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.
Bring large pot of water to boil, add 2 tbsp. of salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely.
Preheat oven to 300ºF. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi. Serve gnocchi and sauce garnished with sage leaves.

From Bon Appetit