Homemade sweet potato and ricotta gnocchi with peas and asparagus recipe

Posted in Recipes.

Posted on March 8, 2019April 8, 2019 by Aaron Harvie

This recipe takes sweet potato to a whole new level of deliciousness! Gnocchi is not hard to make, it just takes a little time, but the result … well, it’s worth the effort. And on top of that, knowing that 150g of baked sweet potato contains 100 percent of your daily intake of vitamins A and C means that the time you invest in your gnocchi-making will result in a nutritious meal for the whole family.

This sweet potato gnocchi is pan fried with a little butter, olive oil and fresh spring vegetables. The great thing about this dish is that it’s light and can be made to order, so it’s perfect for a family meal; and you can easily swap out the vegetables if they don’t meet the standard of your fussy little eater!

Homemade sweet potato and ricotta gnocchi with peas and asparagus recipe

Serves 2 adults + 2 kids

Ingredients

300g sweet potato
175 g ricotta
200 g plain flour, plus a handful more for dusting the kitchen bench
1 large egg
150g asparagus, chopped
150g peas
2 tbsp olive oil
30g unsalted butter
sea salt and cracked black pepper, to season
Parmesan cheese, to grate over the top

Method

Step 1: Place the whole sweet potato – keep the skin on – into a pot of boiling water. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 40 mins or until sweet potato is soft. Try to avoid the sweet potato splitting if possible.

Step 2: Preheat the oven to 100˚C. Spread rock salt over a baking tray and lie the cooked sweet potato in the bed of salt. Place in the oven and allow to dry out there for 40 minutes. Remove the sweet potato.

Step 3: While the sweet potato is hot, cut into large chunks and squeeze press through a potato ricer into a large bowl. If you don’t have a potato ricer, carefully peel back the skin of the sweet potato, remove the cooked flesh and mash with potato masher.

Step 4: Add the ricotta, flour and eggs to the potato and mix well until it forms a rough dough.

Step 5: Dust the kitchen bench with some flour, grab a handful of dough, and roll it gently into a long cigar shape.

Step 6: With a knife, cut the dough into small sections (about 2 centimetres long) and place on a floured baking tray. Repeat until the dough is used.

Step 7: Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.

Step 8: Blanch the asparagus and the peas in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove with a wire skimmer and refresh in cold water. Set aside.

Step 9: Add gnocchi to boiling water and cook until they all float to the surface. Remove with a wire skimmer and set aside.

Step 10: Heat olive oil and butter in a non-stick pan over a medium heat then add the gnocchi. Cook until golden brown then flip and repeat.

Step 11: Add the asparagus and peas to the pan, cook for a further 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.

Step 12: Spoon a generous portion of gnocchi into each bowl and garnish with grated parmesan cheese. For the adults’s dish, season to taste with sea salt and cracked pepper.