Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I just handed in my final assignment of my sophomore year (a review of the Blue Valentine screenplay for my film class...have you seen that movie? It is depressing! I'm sure it would be a lot better to actually watch the movie because then I could stare at Ryan Gosling and everything would be alright).

But anywho, I am officially halfway through college! What?? When did this happen? I'm so old.

I get to stay home and relax for a few weeks before returning to Boston for the summer. So hello Grey's Anatomy reruns and bag after bag of banana chips! And I get to cook again! I missed my kitchen probably more than anything (except for my mother of course!).

My first night home I decided to try something that I've been wanting to try for forever now: gnocchi! It is a little time consuming, but actually a lot simpler than I thought it would be. All we had were sweet potatoes, so I used those and used whole wheat flour to bind it all together. Delicious, healthy, and fancy! Your family will be so impressed!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Serves 4

Gnocchi

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 (approx.) cups of whole wheat flour

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions

1. Cook your potatoes however you'd like. I baked mine in a 375 degree oven for an hour, but you could also boil them. (Side note: remember to poke holes in your potatoes with a fork before you bake them. I may have accidentally forgot and came very close to having exploded bake potato all over my oven.)

2. Remove the skins and mash potatoes in a bowl and let cool.  Add salt, pepper, cinnamon and egg and mix together.

3. Add the flour. I would start with about 1 1/4 cups and then add more as needed. You don't want it to be so sticky that you can't handle it, but don't add too much flour.  I think I added too much and it made the gnocchi a little tough and took away from the sweet potato flavor.

4. Roll the dough into a ball and then cut into 4 sections. Each section will be a serving. Roll out each section onto a floured surface into a skinny snake and cut dough into one inch nuggets. (If you aren't making 4 servings, this is when you can freeze any extras for later.)

5. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Reduce the water so that it is just on the edge of boiling, but not a roiling boil.  Add the gnocchi, one serving at a time, and cook until they float to the top. Wait another thirty seconds and then scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Continue cooking the rest of the gnocchi. And set aside.

6. Empty water from pot and add 1 Tbsp of butter. Sautee the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.

7. Add gnocchi and cook until golden on the outside.

8. Add spinach and cook until just wilted.

7. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese over top. And enjoy!

We ate it with some garlic bread and my mom's delicious, garlicky broccoli. Yum! It is going to be a delicious few weeks!