Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Our friends Bubba and Kim had us over for dinner before they moved to Florida, this must have been a month or two ago. They always make the most beautiful, amazing food for us when they have us over. This particular night they made us Sweet Potato Gnocchi. I love pasta, especially gnocchi, but I had never heard of using sweet potatoes or yams in place of regular potatoes before. That's not to say that doing so is rare, it is just another proof of how much I don't know about food.
Hold up.
Pretend I didn't say that. I know everything about food. Please keep reading my blog.
Anyway, what really blew my mind is how good the sweet, cinnamon-y gnocchi tasted with the homemade marinara sauce they served with it. Below I will post the gnocchi recipe they used, as well as the one I tried. The only difference is that with the second one (by Giada, Foodnetwork.com) you don't spend 2 hours draining ricotta cheese. I am also posting Giada's recipe for Browned Butter Sauce, because this is what she served hers with, and it is also very delicious.
How fun would it be to serve these sweet potato gnocchi with Thanksgiving dinner instead of the generic sweet potatoes with marshmallows?! (Although those are awesome too, which is why they are a classic, right?)
What I like to do is make a triple batch to have some for later. To do this you just make up the dough per the directions below, line up the uncooked gnocchi on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and pop them in the freezer until they have hardened. Make sure they do not touch on the cookie sheet or they will freeze together in a clump. Once they have hardened you can transfer them to a Ziploc bag. When you are ready to eat them just boil them up like normal, they will just take one or two extra minutes to cook up.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
(Bubba and Kim’s recipe)

Ingredients:
2 1-pound sweet potatoes, pierced all over with a fork
1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 tbs. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. plus 2 tbs. salt
½ tsp. nutmeg
2 ¾ cups flour (about)

Directions:

Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scraped sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to mixer. Add ricotta and blend well. Add Parmesan, brown sugar, 2 tsp. salt and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in four, about ½ cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Form each piece into a 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 40 pieces. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tbs. salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until they float to the top. Transfer gnocchi to baking sheet.


Next, Giada's recipe--

Ingredients:
For the Gnocchi:
2 pounds sweet potatoes
2/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

For the Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
20 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
For the Gnocchi:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender and fully cooked, between 40 to 55 minutes depending on size. Cool slightly. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes and transfer to a large measuring cup to make sure the sweet potatoes measure about 2 cups.
Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and blend until well mixed.

Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls.

Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi in 3 batches and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the gnocchi using a slotted spoon onto a baking sheet. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue with the remaining gnocchi.

For the Brown Butter sauce:
While the gnocchi are cooking melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves.

Continue to cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids begin to brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Careful, the mixture will bubble up. Gently stir the mixture. When the bubbles subside, toss the cooked gnocchi in the brown butter. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving dish and serve immediately.