SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a few weeks now! We have been traveling so much, I have barely had any time to sit at my desk and write away! I am very excited to be starting classes at IIN next week and continue to blog more about health and wellness on the website. 

It was our first wedding anniversary a few weeks ago and I wanted to have a romantic dinner at home. Traveling so much means eating out so much, and I really began to cherish home cooked food even more than I already do! My mom makes such delicious dish with sweet potato gnocchi I wanted to recreate it for myself! The amazing thing about gnocchi is that they are typically gluten free, if only made with potato flour, but watch out as some have added wheat flour in them! Rather than using sweet potato flour in this recipe (which I am not sure it even exists), I used sweet potatoes, and a combination of buckwheat flour and brown rice flour. The texture came out just as fluffly and light as regular potato gnocchi, and was pretty easy to make! I made a fresh vegan spinach pesto to top it off and it was really the perfect healthy dinner.

Husband approved.

Ingredients: 

3 medium sweet potatoes, roasted until soft

7 tbsp brown rice flour

5 tbsp buckwheat flour

Pesto:

2 cups spinach

1 handful basil

2 tbsp olive oil

Pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp pine nuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the sweet potatoes in half (they will roast faster) and roast for about 35 minutes, until they are very soft inside. Take them out of the oven and let cool completely.

Once cool, scoop the flesh out of the potatoes and add them to a mixing bowl. Mash the potato, buckwheat flour and brown rice flour until a dough forms. The dough should be a bit sticky. You may need to add more flour or use a bit less depending on the size of the potatoes! 

Dust a clean surface with some brown rice flour and roll out the dough into a sausage shape, about 1 inch thick. Using a knife, cut the dough into about 1 inch pieces and make an indent in them (if you want to) using a fork. 

Bring a pan of water to a boil. Place the gnocchi inside, a few at a time, and let them cook about 3-4 minutes, until they float to the top. When they are at the top, they are ready. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot.

To make the pesto, place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. 

Place the gnocchi in a pan and heat on medium low. Mix with pesto and serve!