Delicious sweet potato Gnocchi tossed in kale pesto & homemade vegan "parmesan" "cheese
Ingredients:
2 medium sized sweet potatoes
Approx. 2 ½ cups plain flour
½ cup good quality rock salt
1 teaspoon nut meg
Salt and pepper for seasoning.
1 tablespoon olive oil
Method:
Preheat oven to 356 Fahrenheit.
On a baking tray place the rock salt and the sweet potatoes on top of the salt. Bake the sweet potatoes for approx. 1 hour until soft all the way through. Use a knife to check. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the potatoes.
Once the potatoes are cook all the way through remove from the oven and set aside. Discard the salt. Allow to cool enough so they can be handled. Remove the skin and using a spoon out the flesh.
Place a sieve over a large bowl. Place the sweet potato flesh into the sieve and using the back of a spoon push the mixture through the sift into the bowl below. ( it’s best to do this while the sweet potato is still warm) This will ensure a smooth gnocchi consistency removing any lumps.
Season the sweet potato with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Allow to cool fully.
Once the potatoes are cold it is time to add the flour. The amount of flour may vary depending on the moisture remaining in the sweet potatoes.
Simply add the flour to the dough and knead like you would bread on a lightly floured surface. Ensuring to incorporate the flour completely. If the dough is sticky and difficult to work with simply add a touch of more flour. Little by little (it is always better to add a little at a time as if you add to much there’s no going back.)
Divide the dough into 4/5 pieces.
Place on a floured flat surface and roll into long sausage shapes. Repeat until each piece of dough is complete.
Using a Sharpe knife cut each sausage shape dough piece into pieces roughly 1.5cm.
To achieve those beautiful traditional lines on the gnocchi simple using the back of a fork (lightly floured) roll each piece over the pronks. This is not essential and can be time consuming.
Set the gnocchi aside on a lightly floured tray and covered to prevent it from drying out.
Fill a large deep pot of water and bring to the bowl. Season the water well with salt.
Once the water has come to the bowl. Gently place the gnocchi into the pot (depending on the size of your pot it may need to be cooked in batches) The Bigger pot the better. A soon as the gnocchi floats to the top they are ready. Using a slotted spoon remove the gnocchi from the water and lay on a tray ensuring they are not on top of each other.
Heat a large frying pan to medium heat with tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil has reached a medium heat gently place the gnocchi into the frying pan for a few minutes ensuring to toss gently with a. spoon. The gnocchi will begin to get slightly crispy on the outside. Add the kale pesto and toss through the gnocchi.
Taste, season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and serve, with nutty parmesan and fresh basil.
Find the recipes for the vegan parmesan & kale pesto on my website
Enjoy Ali xx
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