I had only eaten gnocchi once before in my life. it was during my honeymoon and i dined on it at victoria’s in rochester, minnesota, which surprisingly was super vegan friendly. anyways, the gnocchi wasn’t amazing so i wrote it off as a dish i would never replicate. however, everyone and their mother swears that gnocchi is like a little potato-ey gift from god, so i finally decided to give it a go. one of my favorite flavor combinations is sweet potato, cranberry and kale (see:hippie bowl) and i wanted to incorporate it into dinner; it was tasty! little sweet potato dumplings were tossed with crispy shallot and sage infused olive oil, pine nuts, cranberries, and kale. it’s a little work rolling out all of those little dumplings, so make a ton and freeze half, that way the next time around can be a quick trip!
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Crispy Shallots, Pine nuts, Cranberries, and Kale
makes 4-6 servings
Gnocchi
2 large, about 1 1/2 lbs, Sweet Potatoes
1 cup whole wheat bread flour
1/4 c all purpose flour
the rest
1 pound kale, stemmed and torn into 2 inch pieces
1/4 c dried, unsweetened cranberries
3-5 fresh stems of sage
1/4 c pine nuts
3 shallots, thinly slices. about 1/4 c
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c olive oil
first things first, get a large pot of water on the stove to boil because once the dough is ready, its time to go! bake your sweet potatoes until super soft. about 400 degrees for an hour. while that’s going, get your other ingredients and water prepped and at the ready. i should also mention that a wok, or super wide pan will work best for tossing everything together.
when you have a half an hour left of baking, start the shallots. in a large pan over medium heat, fry the shallots in the oil until crispy and beginning to brown. while the shallots are still golden, turn off the heat and add the sage and garlic and set aside to “steep”.
get your potatoes out of the oven and split them in half. scoop out the insides onto a clean counter top. mash them thoroughly with a fork to get out any lumps, making sure to spread them out a little. while the potatoes re still warm, sprinkle the flour evenly across and fold in, making a soft, slightly sticky dough. you can add more flour as needed if 1 cup isn’t enough. *note, i used whole wheat bread flour. if you use white, you may need more flour. roll the dough into a ball, and divide into four.
take each ball and roll out into a long “snake” or log, that’s 1 inch in diameter. dip a knife into flour and cut the log into 1 inch pieces. if you’re fancy, roll each piece down the tines of a fork to add grooves. as you finish one batch, add them to the salted boiling water, and simmer until they float, and cook for 20 seconds longer. scoop them out and let them hang on a cookie sheet while you start the next batch.
once the gnocchis are finishing up, put a deep pan or wok over medium heat. add all of the kale and stir-fry in a scant bit of oil until the greens are wilted. add the cranberries and turn the heat down.
remove the big pieces of sage from your shallot oil, and return the pan to medium heat. once hot, add the gnocchi’s and gently toss until hot and coated with the oil.finally, transfer the gnocchi’s to the cranberry kale pan and gently toss together. season with salt and pepper and eat at once.
sweet potato gnocchi w/cranberry kale
