LALA'S DELICIOUS SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI
SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI
2 medium/medium-large sweet potatoes (I recommend orange, red, or purple potatoes as they are more sweet than the white)
1-1.5 cups flour or gluten-free flour
.5 teaspoon salt (optional)
6 quarts boiling water, salted
Precook sweet potatoes (either by oven or microwave is fine) and allow to cool until warm. Slice open sweet potatoes and scoop out the tender insides into a large bowl. Add salt and mash with either a potato masher, fork or ricer until creamy and smooth. Add flour starting with 1 cup and mix well. If the mixture is wet, add another 1/4 cup flour. Once the dough starts to seem just a bit crumbly, move to a flat surface and knead until it all comes together. The final product should be smooth without being sticky or crumbly.
Cut the dough into 4 sections and roll out each section into a thin-ish log. We're looking for about 1/2 inch diameter. Cut each gnocchi log into 1" pieces.
The gnocchi can now be cooked or you can add ridges, which allow the sauce to adhere better. Ridges can be made by rolling each gnocchi onto a fork by pressing down on the gnocchi - watch my video to understand how it's done.
Add to boiling water and cook until the gnocchi rises to the top, indicating that it is cooked.
BASIL PESTO
.5 cup walnuts, chopped, toasted
1 cup fresh basil
.5 cup olive oil
.25 cup nutritional yeast
.25 cup shredded parmigiano (vegan)
2 garlic cloves
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
2+ tablespoons water (as needed)
To toast the nuts, chop first. Add to a saute pan heated to medium heat. Cook for 2-5 minutes until fragrant moving pan around often. Do not let your nuts burn.
Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Pulse lightly. Add water if necessary. I recommend using 1 tablespoon at a time until you receive the desired thickness.
You can blend all of the way , or to be more traditional, blend just until the ingredients have incorporated and there is still some texture with the sauce. This is my preferred method, however it's harder to achieve using a blending cup.
NOTES: You can absolutely use pine nuts instead of walnuts in this recipe. Sunflower seeds would also work well. Toasting is not a requirement, however it does improve the overall taste of the pesto.
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