This one's for you mum ❤️

Of all the things my mum taught me to cook, gnocchi is THE recipe that sticks in my head as
HER. She loved cooking it, eating it and most importantly, teaching me how to make it. I have so many memories of mum patiently teaching me the art of rolling the perfect shaped little pillows.

She was so happy to have me with her in the kitchen and got so much joy from passing on her skills to me. Everyone has always said how much like my father I am, so I think the fact that she so clearly shaped my love of cooking meant a lot too her. I also inherited her some what messy approach to cooking. So you can probably imagine what our kitchen looked like after a gnocchi session!

That's where dad made his contribution to my cooking education. He had a rule that if I cooked, no matter how much mess I would make, he would clean up. And he stuck with this promise despite the epic messes I would make . He likes to think, and I don't disagree, that this also was an important factor in my journey as a cook. It makes sense right?! However I don't think this is something I will be repeating with my own girls!

I usually make potato gnocchi but I wasn't happy with the vegan version (I usually add egg to my gnocchi). But when I tried sweet potato vegan gnocchi I was instantly hooked. The flavour is so good! I like serving it with some bitter charred greens and a tangy pesto so it's not as rich as gnocchi so often is. Yum.

The secret to perfect gnocchi….

If you have never made gnocchi before, there are a few key tips that I think are important. I don’t believe there is such as thing as an exact recipe for gnocchi - you must go by your judgement as every batch will be different re the water content of your potato and what flour you use. Ultimately the idea is less flour you end up using the better. You want to add just enough flour to hold it together but not too much or it will taste too stodgy. I get amazed at the amount of flour some recipes call for!

The second is use a potato ricer which is like a big garlic press for potato. You can buy them easily online or a kitchen supply shops. They make the smoothest mash. And put the potato/sweet potato through it twice to ensure a totally smooth mix.

Thirdly don't over mix the dough!

And finally cook it twice, though this is more a personal preference. I boil mine, refresh in cold water and pan fry. I love how the outside goes all crispy and the inside becomes nice and fluffy. Plus it allows more room for error – if you have added too much flour or the gnocchi is just not quite right, panfrying will help disguise these problems. There is nothing a little bit of crispy potato can't fix! It's not traditional to fry it, but hey pretty sure this dish is already well past traditional. I am not sure if the Nonna's would approve of my vegan pesto!

Sweet potato gnocchi with coriander pesto and charred greens

Prep time: 1 hour and 20 minutes plus extra time for cooking and cooling of ingredients

Makes: 4 small-medium serves

Dietary guideline: This recipe is vegan. To make it gluten free use gluten free flour though the amount of flour will vary depending on the brand you use (you will likely need more than the 200g for this recipe). For a FODMAP friendly version, see the end of the recipe.

Ingredients

4 small-medium sweet potatoes (about 1100g or 520g when cooked and peeled)

200g of white flour

½ a teaspoon of salt

1 bunch of broccolini roughly chopped

1 cup of well packed kale leaves (stems removed, washed and dried)

¼ cup of olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the pesto

¼ (40g) cup of cashews raw

1 scant tablespoon of toasted pine nuts

1 cup of loosely packed coriander (15g) – make sure it is well washed

1 clove of garlic

½ a teaspoon of salt flakes

1 long green chilli de-seeded

½ teaspoon of lime or lemon juice

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil oil

½ teaspoon of sugar or maple (optional)

Instructions

Preheat a fan forced oven to 180 degree Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper. Poke each sweet potato a few times with a fork and bake for about an hour or until it's soft and a fork can press through it easily. Remove from the oven and when the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, and mash - ideally twice through a potato ricer. Place in a medium bowl and refrigerate until cold.
Meanwhile make the coriander pesto. Grind the garlic clove and salt in a morter and pestle (a chopping board and the back of a tablespoon can be used instead). Add a teaspoon of the olive oil and grind up further until it forms a rough paste. Scrape the garlic mix out with a spatula and place in a small blender with the cashews and 2 tablespoon of the olive oil (or you continue grinding by hand in the morter and pestle). Whizz for 30 seconds, scape down the sides and add the remaining ingredients – coriander, chilli, juice and pine nuts. Whizz until the desired consistency – I like mine to still have a little texture but its up to you. Taste and adjust for seasoning. If its a little bitter add the sugar and if its too thick you can add some water. Store in the fridge until needed.
To make the gnocchi, get a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil and remove the sweet potato from the fridge. Add about just over half the flour (120g) and gently mix until just starting to combine. Scatter the bench top with a large handful of the remaining flour, scrape the sweet potato and flour mix out on to the bench and dust the top of with dough and your hands with a little more of the flour. Gently knead the dough until it just comes together adding more flour if needed to stop it sticking. The idea is too add as little flour as you can and knead for the least amount of time as possible. It will still be a bit sticky so make sure your hands and the bench top are well floured at all times. This can take a little practise but its important as it helps ensures a nice light and fluffy gnocchi. I like to test a piece before I roll out the entire batch in case it falls apart in the water (which would mean you need to add more flour). Break a little bit of dough off, roll it into a rough ball shape and drop into the boiling water. It's ready when it floats (only about a minute) – remove with a slotted spoon. If it holds together the dough is ready otherwise keep adding flour to the dough until it's right.
Divide the dough into six pieces. Again using lots of flour on the bench top and your hands, roll out into a long cigar shape. Be very gently when you do this and only place the tiniest amount of pressure. Don't rush it! I find using just my fingers and not my palms works the best – you don't want to squash the gnocchi! If the dough gets too long for you to easily handle, cut it in half to make it more manageable. When the dough is about as thick as your thumb, cut into rectangles with a sharp knife - keep cleaning the dough off the knife as you go so the knife continues to cut cleanly through the dough. Place the gnocchi from that batch on a plate and drop into the boiling water. Prepare a bowl of cold water. When the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and place straight into the cold water. Leave for a few minutes, remove the gnocchi and place in a bowl or container. Drizzle with a little oil to stop them sticking. Repeat with the remaining dough (roll, cut, boil, cold water, bowl). I work in batches constantly rolling and cooking but if that sounds like too much multi-tasking, you can roll out all the gnocchi first. Just make sure the plates are well floured and don't let the gnocchi sit for too long before nboiling. You might need to refresh your cold water as the gnocchi warms it up or you can just add some ice cubes. Store the cooked gnocchi in the fridge until needed. Note the dough needs to be used within the first two hours of making. The boiled and cooled gnocchi will last two days in the fridge.
To serve the gnocchi, heat a large frying pan on high with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the broccolini and kale, season and cook until they start to develop a nice char. Place in large bowl with a lid to keep warm whilst you fry the gnocchi (or you could use 2 frypans and do it at the same time).
Wipe down the pan, reduce the heat to low-medium and add enough olive oil to just coat the pan. In batches, fry the gnocchi. They should only take a few minutes on each side or until they start to brown. Add the gnocchi to the bowl with the broccol and repeat until all the gnocchi has been pan-fried. .
When all the gnocchi is done, add the pesto to the bowl, gently toss and divide among 4 pasta bowls. Enjoy!

FODMAP friendly adaptation: Monash recommends people on the FODMAP friendly diet keeping servings of sweet potato under 75g which would allow for only a small serving of sweet potato gnocchi (just over 1/7 of this recipe) so I recommend using regular potato. Cook them as per instructions for the sweet potato but make the gnocchi dough whilst the potato is still warm. You will also need to use gluten free flour, though the amount of flour will vary depend on the brand you use, so go by feel following my above tips for perfect gnocchi (you will likely need more than the 200g for this recipe). Replace the garlic in the pesto with ½ a teaspoon of garlic infused oil. The amount of broccolini should be fine for most people on the FODMAP diet.