Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Here's my second entry into ATOM (A Taste of the Mediterranean). Every month the panel selects a country and dish as a basis for variation. This month's country is Italy and the dish is gnocchi. (As I was writing this post, I realized that I missed the entry date by a day - ah well, their loss = our gain.)

I've made traditional potato gnocchi many times and recenlty have really become a convert to pan-fried gnocchi. Instead of boiling the gnocchi, they are panfried and either sauced in the traditional manner (with a ragu, for instance) or served in or as a salad.

I'm on my own tonight so I thought I'd try this technique with sweet potato gnocchi instead (Beppo isn't a huge fan of sweets). I'd say the results were an unqualified success. The gnocchi fried up into fluffy little bites and I ate them up, dipped in spicy ketchup. This posting at Cookthink was an inspiration for my recipe.

Aside from roasting off the sweet potaotes, which I did a day ahead when the oven was on for something else, this recipe actually came together pretty quickly: about 20 minutes from idea to skillet. I didn't boil these gnocchi, so I can not vouch for their ability to hold together in boiling water.

Pan-Fried Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Serves 4-6

• 2 large sweet potatoes, baked until tender
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1.5 - 2 cups flour

Put the potatoes through a ricer or grater. Stir the eggs, salt and pepper into the potatoes. Add in half the flour and stir it in with a rubber spatula. Keep adding flour (press it in with the spatula) until you have a soft dough. It should hold together and not feel too sticky.

Roll the dough into thick ropes (about 3/4" inch around) and then cut it into inch-long pieces with a bench knife or table knife. Roll each piece (adding flour if things get sticky) down the tines of a fork (or on a butter paddle, like I do).

After you've finished cutting and rolling gnocchi, you can fry them up. In a hot non-stick or cast iron skillet, saute the gnocchi over medium-high heat until browned well on both sides.

I ate mine dipping in spicy ketchup, but I think these wouldbe great with sage and brown butter, or tossed with crispy pancetta, asparagus and onion.