Sweet potato gnocchi

These sweet potato gnocchi are lovely (even if they do not look pretty on the picture!), especially when served with homemade pesto (the recipe is here) and freshly grated parmesan, or with homemade tomato and fresh herb sauce.

The quantities in the recipe here are for 3-4 people. The gnocchi are ready in 60 minutes or so.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (about 400 g) of sweet potato, peeled and diced
• Water
• Salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of semolina
• 1 cup of flour (I used whole wheat flour) + ½ cup to flour the working surface
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Pepper
• Freshly grated parmesan

Preparation

In a saucepan over high heat, boil the sweet potato in salted water until cooked and tender, 20 minutes or so.

Drain the sweet potato and transfer into a large mixing bowl (keep the saucepan for further use!). With a potato masher, mash the sweet potato and stir in the egg yolks and butter. Add the semolina, and gradually stir in the cup of flour until reaching a dough which is not too sticky.

Split the dough into 6-7 balls of equal size.

On a floured surface, roll out each ball to create a 30-cm roll. Make a mark on the roll with a fork, and cut into 1.5 cm chunks.

In the large saucepan over high heat, boil the gnocchi for 5 minutes in salted water, and drain them carefully with a slotted spoon.

In a frying pan, add the olive oil and the gnocchi, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for a few minutes, turning them gently.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan and homemade pesto.