The original recipe called for chestnuts, but since I'm not a fan I used pecans instead. Mmmmmmm, tasty pecans.
Overall the dish turned out pretty decent. The gnocchi didn't have quite as much of a sweet potato flavor as I would like, so next time I make it I'll try doubling the sweet potatoes and halving the regular potatoes. The other thing that would be interesting would be to chop the sage very finely and add it to the dough, rather than frying the leaves and putting them on top.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 lb russet (baking potatoes)
- 1 (3/4-lb) sweet potato
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup sage leaves (from 1 bunch)
- 1/3 cup bottled roasted chestnuts, very thinly sliced with an adjustable-blade slicer or a sharp vegetable peeler. NOTE: pecans are tastier, use them instead!
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Note: this recipe makes a very large quantity. You will probably want to freeze about half of the gnocchi, uncooked. They keep for about a month. When cooking them later, do not thaw them first. When doing this, make sure you halve the sauce/topping recipe as well.
Recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Pierce the potatoes and sweet potato with a fork, and bake in a dish in the oven for 45 - 60 minutes, until just tender.
- Let the potatoes cool slightly, then peel them and force them through a ricer onto a pan. Spread them out evenly (this just helps them cool faster). Let them cool completely.
- Lightly flour a baking sheet or two
- Beat together egg, nutmeg, a little bit of salt (recipe calls for 1tsp, but that seems like way too much), and 1/2 tsp pepper.
- Form mound with a well of the cooled potatoes, pour the egg mixture in, and knead.
- Knead in cheese and 1 1/2 c flour.
- Knead in additional flour as necessary, until the mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough.
- Cut the dough into 6 pieces (Note to self, do 8-10 next time, since it'll make things more manageable). Roll each piece into a rope approximately 1/2 inch in diameter on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut the rope into 1/2 inch pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and dust lightly with flour
- Repeat for the other 5-7 pieces.
- Turn a fork over and hold at a 45-degree angle, with tips of tines touching work surface. Working with 1 at a time, roll gnocchi down fork tines, pressing with your thumb, to make ridges on 1 side. Transfer gnocchi as formed to baking sheets
Fry Sage Leaves and Pecans
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry sage leaves in a few batches, stirring, until they turn just a shade lighter and crisp (about 30 seconds per batch). Transfer to paper towels to drain. Save the oil.
- Break pecans into quarters and fry in the oil. Turn off the heat after a minute or two and leave on the stove.
Cook the Gnocchi
- Add half of the gnocchi to a pot of well salted boiling water. Cook until they float to the surface (approximately 3 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon.
- Cook the remaining gnocchi. Once they are finished cooking, add butter to the skillet with the pecans, and heat over medium heat until the butter starts to brown.
- Add the gnocchi to the skillet and stir to coat. If you want your gnocchi a bit firmer/crispier, fry in the skillet with the pecans until they're as crispy and coated with sauce as desired.
- Serve with fried sage and grated cheese (if desired).
Potatoes through the ricer
Letting the potatoes + sweet potatoes cool.
Making the gnocchi dough
Gnocchi dough, chopped into 1/6 ths
Ropes of gnocchi dough, ready to be cut
Gnocchi, pre-forking
Gnocchi, post forking
Cooked gnocchi
Frying with the Pecans
Gnocchi served with the sage, as well as some carrots and a pear + spinach salad.
