How do you pronounce Gnocchi?
First, the G is silent. Give it a try: N(Y)OK-ee or nee-ah-kee. Well, anyway you pronounce it, it’s a great breakfast or first course meal alternative and if you like sweet potatoes (of course you do) you’re going to love these.
Easy Gnocchi Recipe
Gnocchi, typically in Italian culture are eaten as a first course. They’re usually an alternative to soup or even pasta and that makes sense now… since we’re thinking paleo. Ours is a take on this but for breakfast. Also, Gnocchi are generally home-made in Italian and immigrant Italian households. You can also buy from specialty stores. In supermarkets, industrially produced packaged gnocchi are widely available refrigerated, dried, or frozen but really, they’re not that great (usually). And, if we weren’t eating these for breakfast, they can be accompanied by melted butter with sage, pesto, and well, any other various Italian sauces.
Sweet Potato Recipe Ideas
As you’re probably well aware by now, I’m always looking for new ways to prepare sweet potatoes. I had heard of gnocchi before and did some research on how to make it paleo (several years ago). I kept hearing stories about the stuff just falling apart and disintegrating in the boiling water and I honestly did not want to waste a ton of sweet potatoes and almond flour, but went for it anyway, with my hopes and expectations very low.
No Xantham Gum or Guar Gum
My starting point was this recipe, which seemed to be the most successful of any that I found, but it included xantham or guar gums, neither of which I had or wanted to purchase, so I left them out and crossed my fingers. I did not replace them with anything because I couldn’t find enough information about the appropriate substitutions, if there actually were any.
This recipe includes a LOT of almond flour, but I found that I wound up using quite a but less than the original recipe called for and still had great success. Of course, this could all have to do with the water content of your potatoes after boiling them, so just keep an eye on the consistency as your adding the flour and starch. As far as how much this makes, I almost filled a one gallon freezer bag, so it makes a lot, great for a quick meal, breakfast, or side dish. I think I will try this with my Paleo Spaghetti Sauce as a main course one night…
Also, I’d highly recommend a potato ricer for this recipe. It will really help you to get smooth potatoes with no lumps. Now, on to the recipe!
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 3-1/2 Cups of Mashed Sweet Potatoes, about 3 large sweet potatoes
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
- 2 Large Eggs
- up to 6 Cups Blanched Almond Flour, I only needed 4-1/2
- up to 4-1/2 Cups Tapioca or Arrowroot Starch, I only needed 3 cups
- Additional Flour and Starch for dusting
- Grass-Fed Butter or Ghee, optional
- Ground Cinnamon, optional
- Pecans, optional, roughly chopped
- Grade B Maple Syrup, optional
- Crispy Cooked Bacon, optional, chopped
Instructions
- Peel, Cube and Boil the sweet potatoes until tender. Strain the water and run them through the potato ricer. If you don’t have one, mash them the best you can so there are no lumps. Set aside and let them cool off a bit.
- Once the potatoes have cooled stir in the salt and eggs.
- Begin adding in a cup at a time each of the almond flour and tapioca starch. After adding a cup, stir the dough, then add another cup. Slowly the dough will become firmer and less sticky. You should be able to roll the finished dough in your hands without it sticking a ton. It may still be a little sticky on the inside, but as long as you can roll it between your hands its perfect. Coating your hands with the tapioca starch will help.
- Dust a cutting board or counter top with equal parts almond flour and tapioca Just enough for a light coating.
- Take a handful of dough and roll it out like a snake. You want it only about an inch thick. Using a knife slice the roll into smaller pieces. Each piece should be no larger than an ½ inch wide.
- Dip a fork in the tapioca starch and press onto the top of the gnocchi pieces to form the ridged indentations.
- Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or foil and place the finished gnocchi on the 3 trays. Place the trays in the freezer. Once the gnocchi is frozen remove it from the trays and place into freezer safe bags. Store in the freezer until you are ready to use.
- To cook: bring a pot of water to a boil and add the gnocchi. Let it cook until it floats for about 2 minutes.
- To cook them fresh (not from frozen): bring a pot of water to a boil and add the gnocchi. Let it cook until it floats for about 30 seconds.
- Additional cooking after boiling (optional): after boiling, heat a saucepan over medium heat and some butter or ghee (about 1 Tbsp per 10 gnocchi). When the pan is heated, add the gnocchi.
- Sprinkle on cinnamon to taste. Saute until lightly browned and crispy on both sides.
- Right before the gnocchi are done, add some chopped pecan pieces and lightly drizzle some maple syrup.
- Remove from pan and sprinkle bacon pieces on top.
fireboy and watergirl
Thursday 19th of December 2019
Delicious, quick and easy! A hit with the family!
Heather
Thursday 7th of June 2018
Hi, Kendra, Thank you so much for not using any thickeners, and for using less almond and arrowroot/tapioca flours/starches, not that I have a problem with either of those flours. Also, thanks for not resorting to using nightshade potatoes! I'm extremely sensitive to those nightshades! I can have tomato and Peppers once in awhile, but not all the time, they either agitate my gut, or cause me to have heart palpitations and I'm thinking that's why there's a "problem" with the metro valve, 'cause when I don't eat them, no palpitations.
I'm still trying to find a sweet pea fritter/burger/pancake recipe, but you know what - I think I'll just wing it, since I am quite highly skilled in the kitchen when it comes to not using rice flours nor thickeners, although, for a slightly different flavor, I will use 1 TB of chickpea flour, lol. Which, that's my other pet peeve, these dummies adding thickeners to when they use chickpeas or the flour, when if they'd leave it set for 5 to 30 minutes or even 1 hour, they wouldn't have to add any thickeners, because chickpeas contain their own thickeners if people weren't so impatient! At which point, I just omit the thickeners when using chickpeas!
I'd like to make chickpea sweet potato burgers, without the breadcrumbs and flour, or maybe using chickpea flour.
I did find a recipe about zucchini fritters using 2 TB each of coconut and Arrowroot flour, with 1 egg, maybe it could work for sweet peas... after all, I am more highly skilled than these other "chefs," I'd say I'm as skilled as you are!
Artie
Tuesday 18th of July 2017
Thank you for taking the time to provide healthy recipes. And the pictures you post are always gorgeous.