RecipesPasta & Co

Pan-fried Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce

by Micaela Harrasser

Today I am sharing with you another gnocchi recipe! This time, jumping on the trend of the pan-fried version to give them that extra crunch and sexy golden tan ;D
These sweet potato gnocchi are very easy to make (check my video on Instagram here), then to make your meal super quick you can make them in advance, and do the final cooking step + dressing with a sauce at the very end! Perfect for a quick, no fuss healthy meal.
For this recipe I made a quick basil pesto with pine nuts and Parmigiano, which is dairy free. For a completely dairy free version of this recipe, you can use a vegan butter or margarine 🙂
If you are not a fan of sweet potatoes, or just want to get rid of some leftover potatoes, you can use other potato types. Ideally they have to be the floury type. The flour amount might change though!
Speaking of flour, for this recipe I went for a mix of all-purpose and spelt, because I love spelt flour! (Tastier, and more nutritious than standard all-purpose flour). Feel free to experiment with other flours if you prefer, but I would suggest to keep the all-purpose as the main flour to start with!
In terms of gnocchi shape, I left mine in this ´pillow´ shape – but if interested you can check my other video recipe to see how to make the creased tops here (spoiler alert: a gnocchi paddle it will make your life easier)! Enjoy! 😀

Pan-fried Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce

Serves: 2x Prep Time: Cooking Time: Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

For the gnocchi:

  • 300 sweet potato skin on
  • 180g flour (I did 130g all-purpose, and 50g spelt)
  • 1 egg
  • 25g butter to pan-fry the gnocchi

For the sauce:

  • 50g pine nuts
  • 50g parmigiano reggiano (plus more to dust on top)
  • 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • basil leaves a large handful
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. To make the gnocchi, let´s first cook the sweet potato.
  2. Pierce it with a fork and microwave it for about 6 minutes until soft.
  3. Once ready, remove the skin (carefully as it will be very hot).
  4. Mash it with a fork.
  5. Place it on your worktop, and add the flour(s) on top.
  6. Start mixing with your hands, then add in the egg.
  7. Keep mixing just until everything is combined (you do not need to work the dough as you would with pasta).
  8. Once done, you should get a relatively moist and soft dough, which does not stick onto your hands.
  9. Start making the gnocchi!
  10. With a pasta cutter, cut the dough into 4 pieces and roll them out making ropes of the desired width.
  11. I usually do about 1 cm width to get medium to large gnocchi.
  12. I kept mines flat, but feel free to check my other gnocchi recipe to learn how to shape them!
  13. Place a pot with water to boil.
  14. In the meantime, make the pesto or use a store-bought one.
  15. To make the pesto you can use the mortar like me, or a small stand mixer with blades.
  16. First add the nuts and cheese and ground them.
  17. Add the oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and mix.
  18. Add the basil and mix.
  19. Taste to adjust the flavors.
  20. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water (previously salted).
  21. Cook until they start floating.
  22. In the meantime, heat up the butter on low heat in a small pan.
  23. Once the gnocchi are ready, transfer them to the pan.
  24. Turn up the heat, stir them just once to ensure they are coated with butter, then let them sit to get that crunchy tan on each side, for about 3 minutes.
  25. Once ready, transfer them onto your serving dish, cover with pesto and some extra cheese, and enjoy!

Notes

Storage: you can store the gnocchi in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two days. They can be either raw or boiled. I would do the pan-fried step only when you want to eat them.

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