You’ll never have shop bought gnocchi again after making this sweet potato version! It’s really simple to make and tastes AH-MAZING!!! Before you know it you’ll have polished the whole lot off and be wanting more of this delicious dinner.
Some people don’t get the texture of gnocchi, but personally I think that little pillow entering your mouth filled with heaps of flavour is one of the best things ever. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had bad gnocchi in the past – some can be boring or soggy or bland as hell! But cooked just right, slathered in a delicious sauce… gnocchi is a winner.
Dean and I have experienced lots of gnocchi over the past few years in our trips to Italy. In my opinion the best gnocchi are the ones where there’s still a bit of bite to them. Being totally honest I’ve never made gnocchi before and I was quite scared how it would work out, especially using sweet potato rather than normal.
Dean on the other hand made it once before and it was a DISASTER! 😂 His advice was to make sure that the potato is not lumpy!
So off I went to the kitchen and got everything ready to make my very first gnocchi! Everything was going really well and the dough came together beautifully! So far I was really chuffed and thought “it actually looks like gnocchi”! Dean arrived home and as soon as he saw them his response was “WOW!”. I was still a little nervous as we hadn’t cooked them and thought they could end up like a soggy pillow 😂.
Everything came together and we were both dying to try a mouthful. I went first and I think the smile on my face said it all, they were bloody delicious! I was chuffed that they’d turned out to be a success 😊.
We don’t eat much potato generally these days. Dean is a bit of a fuss pot when it comes to it, they either have to be covered in a sauce, roasted or mashed with a whole tub of butter! Yes he is right when he says they taste better that way, but my waistline wouldn’t hold up if I ate like that all the time! I on the other hand love a simple boiled or jacket potato.
Trying to keep things a little healthier we try to substitute sweet potato instead or normal potato where we can. And with this time of year and the autumn months being prime time with squashes and sweet potatoes I bought a massive pack – I just love how it gives any dish vibrancy and colour. Personally think the sweet potato gave this gnocchi dish loads more flavour and really worked well with the chives and parmesan.
Dean is a meat freak and has to have it with everything so I decided to serve the gnocchi with herby sausages. It gave the dish another element to contrast the sweet gnocchi and I really enjoyed it. The sage leaves were another additional flavour and texture that finished the dish off nicely.
TIP: Have a play around – you can always leave the meat out or add bacon or chorizo. Make it your own and let me know what did in the comments below! 😊
Buttery Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sausage
Ingredients
Gnocchi
- 4 medium sweet potatoes mine weighed 900g uncooked
- 160 g plain flour sift (extra for dusting)
- 1 splash semi skimmed milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan
- 1/2 tbsp chives chopped finely
- black pepper seasoning
Butter sauce
- 1 tsp butter
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- 200 ml chicken stock
- 2-3 tbsp low fat crème fraîche
- salt and black pepper seasoning
Other
- 4 herby sausages
- 10 fresh sage leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / 350°F / gas 4.
- Prick your sweet potato with a sharp knife and put them in the oven for about 30 minutes or until soft.
- Once your sweet potato are cooked leave them to cool for 5-10 minutes until they are ok to handle. With a spoon scrape the filling into a bowl.
- Add a splash of milk to your potato and mash until smooth.
- Add the salt, parmesan and chives then mix into the sweet potato mash. Season with black pepper.
- Sift the flour into your mixture, using a fork gather the mixture together forming a dough. Using your hands form a dough ball.
- Cut your dough ball into quarters and then each quarter in half again.
- Dust your work surface with flour then roll into a long sausage about an inch thick. Cut up using a sharp knife into inch size pieces.
- Place the gnocchi pieces on a sheet of baking paper dusted with flour so that they don’t stick.
- Add a little bit of oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the sage leaves, they will crisp up in no time. Take them out place them onto a piece of kitchen roll, this will soak the excess oil.
- Cook your sausages in a pan then slice them into rings.
- Now for the sauce. Add the butter to a frying pan and once it has melted add the garlic, then give it a good stir, cook for one minute.
- Add the stock and bring to the simmer, then add the crème fraîche and keep stirring. Season with black pepper and bring to the boil. Turn down and simmer.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add your gnocchi, when they rise to the top they are ready. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Spoon them into your buttery sauce and give a good stir but be gentle. Add the sausage.
- Serve into pasta bowls and sprinkle with crispy sage leaves. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply