Richelle’s Sweet potato and pumpkin gnocchi (Paleo)

I had a craving for some authentic, home made real Italian Mama gnocchi with tomato sauce.  A quick google on a Saturday night came up with nothing but cheap and nasty pizza and pasta in the outer eastern suburbs.  So I took matters into my own hands, and this is what I came up with!

A slightly healthier bent on the usual high carb potato gnocchi, this one is mostly pumpkin, with a bit of sweet potato and a couple of baby potatoes.  I've made both the paleo, and non-paleo version, and both are as equally delicious!  They are a bit fiddly to make, but so worth it!

Ingredients:

500g pumpkin

1 small/med sweet potato

2-4  baby potatoes (optional, don’t use for true Paleo)

1-2 cups plain flour or almond meal  (flour gives you the true gnocchi texture, but almond meal still gives you a great result, and keeps it paleo!)

Method:

Roughly chop the veggies, leaving the skin on, and boil or microwave until soft.

Roughly mash the veggies with a masher.

Now comes the fiddly bit.  Using 1/3 of the mash at a time, squish the mash through a large fine metal strainer with the back of a tablespoon.  This separates the skin and makes the mash super fine, which is key for this recipe.  Alternatively you can use a Potato Ricer if you have one, its like a large garlic press for spuds, and its super quick!

Allow your fine mash to get cold.

Once cold, add enough of your flour/almond meal and mix with a knife to form a dough like consistency – this will be 1-2 cups.  Move onto a lightly floured board, and lightly knead, and form into long thin logs.  

Cut into small gnocchi pieces, approx 2-3cm long.  Roll with fingers into gnocchi shaped pieces.  If they are too sticky, coat with a very small amount of flour/almond meal.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, and add gnocchi pieces in 2-3 batches.  Keep water boiling continuously.  Gnocchi is ready when it comes to the surface, use a slotted spoon to remove from the pot.

Serve immediately with your choice of pasta sauce.

*I put mine a casserole dish, and covered them with Richelle's Rich Red Wine Tomato Sauce (Paleo).  I stirred in a little shredded parmesan, sprinkled some extra parmesan on top, and baked it in the over at 220 degrees for 10-15 mins, until the cheese is melted.  

Not wanting to blow my own trumpet, but this meal is DIVINE!!