Photo courtesy of Sarah Culver Photography I love comfort food. Who doesn't? For my husband, I think mac and cheese with chicken nuggets cannot be beat. Unless you add a chocolate milk. Then he's in heaven. At least he now adds some peas to the mac and cheese…you know, for some color. :) Me, well, I always think of something rich and indulgent when I think of comfort food. But the other night, as I savored each bite of a dish I've now made many times before, it suddenly just clicked. THIS was my comfort food. THIS was the dish that I should remember and turn to every time I had a rough day, a long week, or just needed some extra TLC.
I've actually shared the recipe for this dish with you previously - the lovely gnocchi with sautéed corn, green onions, and a perfectly paired brown butter. Husband requested it for dinner Friday night. I wanted it immediately, but realized just as quickly that I did not have any gnocchi at the house. Undeterred, I got home from work and promptly found a recipe for homemade sweet potato gnocchi. I'm crazy, I know. We've seen it before. Not having an ingredient, even an essential one like the main focus of a dish, rarely tends to phase me. And I'm soooo glad it didn't in this instance especially. The resulting gnocchi were amazing. They took very little time, and I made enough that we had a delicious helping for dinner and still have another one or two dinner's worth neatly packed in the freezer. AND, like so many things that you make at home, these gnocchi are infinitely cheaper and healthier than store bought.
So, not sure what you're having for dinner tonight? I've got you covered!
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
makes enough gnocchi for 2-3 dinners for 2 or about 6 "servings"
2 medium-large sweet potatoes
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat pastry and half sprouted whole wheat flour; at least use whole wheat, as it really adds a lovely nutty dimension AND is soooo much better for you)
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat your oven to 450*F. Stab the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork. Place the potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until the potato is very tender when pricked with a fork. Remove from oven and cut open carefully.
If you're planning to make the gnocchi right away, allow to cool just long enough that you can stand picking up the potato halves. Dump the innards of the potatoes into a large bowl, discarding the skins. Mash a bit with a fork and then place into your freezer to cool.
If you're in no rush to complete the gnocchi, let your potatoes cool before dumping the innards into a bowl, discarding the skins, and mashing up the potatoes. In either case, once the potatoes are room temperatureish, mash them well with a fork until fairly smooth. Add your egg and salt and mix thoroughly. Then add your flour, a 1/4 - 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Mix with your fork until a nice, sticky, but pretty cohesive dough.
Flour your counter/table liberally. With very floured hands, remove a chunk of the dough, about the size of an egg. Let the exterior of the dough chunk get covered in flour and then roll into a long log, until it's a little bit thicker than your pointer finger. Cut the dough into 1-in sections (I like to use a pizza cutter). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
If you're making gnocchi for dinner (you should), bring a pot of water to boil and add the desired number of gnocchi. Boil until the gnocchi are all basically floating to the top (2 minutesish). Any remaining gnocchi? Keep them on that parchment-lined sheet and place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. When frozen, remove from the sheet pan and place into a zip-lock bag or other air-tight container. Store in the freezer for several months (if you can stay away from them for that long!) and simply boil from frozen until they float when you want them (about 3 minutes).
What's your favorite comfort food? If you haven't tried this, you might want to wait to comment until you have - it may just be your new favorite. :)
So, not sure what you're having for dinner tonight? I've got you covered!
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
makes enough gnocchi for 2-3 dinners for 2 or about 6 "servings"
2 medium-large sweet potatoes
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat pastry and half sprouted whole wheat flour; at least use whole wheat, as it really adds a lovely nutty dimension AND is soooo much better for you)
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat your oven to 450*F. Stab the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork. Place the potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until the potato is very tender when pricked with a fork. Remove from oven and cut open carefully.
If you're planning to make the gnocchi right away, allow to cool just long enough that you can stand picking up the potato halves. Dump the innards of the potatoes into a large bowl, discarding the skins. Mash a bit with a fork and then place into your freezer to cool.
If you're in no rush to complete the gnocchi, let your potatoes cool before dumping the innards into a bowl, discarding the skins, and mashing up the potatoes. In either case, once the potatoes are room temperatureish, mash them well with a fork until fairly smooth. Add your egg and salt and mix thoroughly. Then add your flour, a 1/4 - 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Mix with your fork until a nice, sticky, but pretty cohesive dough.
Flour your counter/table liberally. With very floured hands, remove a chunk of the dough, about the size of an egg. Let the exterior of the dough chunk get covered in flour and then roll into a long log, until it's a little bit thicker than your pointer finger. Cut the dough into 1-in sections (I like to use a pizza cutter). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
If you're making gnocchi for dinner (you should), bring a pot of water to boil and add the desired number of gnocchi. Boil until the gnocchi are all basically floating to the top (2 minutesish). Any remaining gnocchi? Keep them on that parchment-lined sheet and place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. When frozen, remove from the sheet pan and place into a zip-lock bag or other air-tight container. Store in the freezer for several months (if you can stay away from them for that long!) and simply boil from frozen until they float when you want them (about 3 minutes).
What's your favorite comfort food? If you haven't tried this, you might want to wait to comment until you have - it may just be your new favorite. :)