Boil
by: Posie (Harwood) Brien
April18,2018
4
15 Ratings
- Prep time 30 minutes
- Cook time 10 minutes
- Serves 6
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
I was always intimidated by the idea of making gnocchi, but this recipe is far more simple that you'd think for such an elegant result. Microwaving the sweet potato cuts down on time, and the rest of the ingredients are mixed together in one bowl. Serve it plain, or as I like to do, with sautéed broccoli rabe and a quick sage brown butter sauce. —Posie (Harwood) Brien
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound)
- 1 cupwhole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cupfreshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- 1 1/4 cupsall-purpose flour
Directions
- Prick the sweet potato all over with a fork, wrap in a damp paper towel, and microwave until soft (about 7 minutes).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out the flesh of the potato and add it to a large bowl. Add the ricotta, Parmesan, and salt and mix until smooth. Add the flour, a little at a time, stirring and then kneading until the dough just comes together—don't overwork the dough as you want it stay light.
- Once the dough comes together, divide it into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 1" in diameter. (Dust with more flour as needed to keep it from sticking.) Using a sharp knife, cut the rope into 1" pieces and transfer the pieces onto the parchment-lined sheet,
- At this point, you can either freeze the gnocchi to make later (this is such a good idea for weeknight dinners!) or cook them right away. To cook, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the gnocchi and cook for about 2-5 minutes, or until they're tender and they float to the surface of the water. Transfer the gnocchi carefully (they're very delicate and can fall apart easily) to the parchment-lined sheet again.
- Serve hot with more Parmesan and some cracked pepper and butter. I like to toss mine with a simple garlic sage brown butter sauce (melt butter until it smells nutty, add some sage and minced garlic and cook briefly) and sautéed greens or broccoli rabe and cheese.
Tags:
- Pasta
- Italian
- Sweet Potato/Yam
- Potato
- Boil
- Make Ahead
- Entree
- Dinner
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Barbra Fite
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Laura Paynter
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Carolyn Girone Tedeschi
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Kris
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Christine Connor Williams
21 Reviews
emmaclaire October 19, 2020
I don’t have a microwave...what temp would you use to roast the sweet potatoes in the oven?
Posie (. October 20, 2020
I’d do 425.
Barbra F. September 24, 2020
These are lovely added a bit of freshly grated nutmeg, it gives them a nice flavor.
TheBigVee June 16, 2019
Just made this recipe for the second time last night. Simple and quick to make, and delicious result. For me, the sage and garlic butter sauce is the perfect accompaniment to these little beauties. (Though I did not trust myself in preventing “brown butter” from becoming “burnt butter,” so I added a smidge of olive oil to the butter to give me a safety net. Posey, if you have a link to a brown butter sauce technique you think would school me properly, I’d be grateful!) Nicely done!
Posie (. June 16, 2019
Glad you loved it! There's a good video tutorial here on browning butter--just follow this and add your aromatics at the end! A little white wine never hurt anyone either :)
VGFrank January 25, 2019
Delicious and oh-so-easy to make fluffy orange creamsicle-colored clouds! A friend had given me a small wedge of lemon ricotta from Trader Joe’s, so I used that instead of traditional ricotta, and it was just superb - I highly recommend trying this, I think it made them even lighter and puffier, and that touch of tangy lemon with the sweet potato was the perfect counterbalance.
cosmiccook September 20, 2019
VGFrank--can you provide a little more info on this TJ product? I've never seen it at ours (Metairie, La). The wedge sounds much drier than fresh. I'm intrigued!
VGFrank September 20, 2019
It was a gift from a friend! And I think limited release, I have not seem it recently. It was light and heavenly.
rpepper November 10, 2018
These are delicious.
cosmiccook August 15, 2018
Can't wait to try these--I made the Sweet Potato ones from Epicurious?BA but they were a dismal failure. This looks much simpler and better!
Laura P. August 15, 2018
Would this work with any GF flours?
Alex H. October 4, 2019
I know this is a super old comment, but I just used Cup4Cup GF Flour and it worked super well! I needed to saute them a bit in the brown butter to get a better texture but I thought they were delicious and still light. Plus, my non-GF husband loved them and asked me to make them more often.
Carolyn G. August 12, 2018
can I substitute regular potatoes in this recipe? if so what kind?
Posie (. August 15, 2018
If you want a regular potato gnocchi I’d use this recipe! https://food52.com/recipes/29579-classic-potato-gnocchi
Barbara B. October 25, 2020
Love this recipe! Have made twice. Freezes sublimely.
Two q's:
1.) Thoughts on swapping out beets for the sweet potato for your recipe?
2.) For the linked potato gnocchi recipe, what does 2 Idaho potatoes translate into? No weight, no measurement.
Kris August 8, 2018
Silly question but can I substitute regular potatoes in this recipe? if so what kind? The reason I am asking is most gnocchi recipes include egg and I really want to try this one because it doesn't.
Cecilia M. August 12, 2018
There are a few recipes of gnocchi made without eggs ( and white potatoes) online, also with or without cheese for a vegan gnocchi.
Christine C. August 6, 2018
This looks so good. How long would I need to boil them if I froze them first?
Posie (. August 6, 2018
I often freeze them and it really only adds a minute or two to the boiling type--just watch closely and drain them as soon as they start floating to the surface of the water.
Mika September 9, 2018
Can they be cooked from frozen or should they be thawed first?
Posie (. September 9, 2018
You can cook them from frozen! Will just add a tiny bit more time.
