Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe | Julie Blanner (2024)

FAQs

What should you not do when making gnocchi? ›

Don't overwork the dough: When making gnocchi dough, it's important not to overwork it. Overworking the dough can make the gnocchi tough and chewy. Mix the ingredients together just until the dough comes together, and then stop mixing! You're not kneading bread here.

If you overdo it with flour, your gnocchi will be too hard, if you put too little they will break during cooking. The rule says that the flour must be at most a third of the amount of potatoes.

If dough is too sticky, add more flour and knead it in. I like to knead my gnocchi dough until it is fairly stiff — this part is up to you. I prefer a somewhat toothsome gnocchi, but if you want yours to be lighter in texture, knead just until your dough resembles pizza dough.

For gnocchi with a fluffy texture, don't knead the dough past the point where the flour is fully incorporated into the potatoes. Think large lemon size when you tear off a piece of dough to roll out.

Some gnocchi recipes recommend floury potatoes instead, such as Idaho potatoes or Russet potatoes, but I don't always agree. They're too mealy. Tipo 00 Flour is a soft, fine milled flour from Italy. It's a must-have for light and tender gnocchi and homemade pasta.

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

Russets will do, but Yukon Golds have more of the nutty flavor of the yellow-fleshed boiling potatoes used by the Italian and Provençal cooks who have mastered gnocchi.

Poach gnocchi in batches in a pan of lightly salted water for 2-4 minutes. Cooked gnocchi will float to the top. Strain and serve immediately with a good pasta sauce.

Chewy gnocchi are the result of too much flour and over kneading the dough. It's important to knead the dough just until it comes together into a smooth ball and no more. This is because you don't want to encourage too much gluten development which makes them tough, chewy and rubbery.

What does Sweet Potato Gnocchi taste like? Gnocchi is often made with potatoes and tastes the same. But when you use sweet potatoes in the recipe then gnocchi turns out a little sweet. They don't have an empowering sweet flavor but have a little sweet after taste.

Is it better to boil or bake potatoes for gnocchi? ›

The secret to the lightest, most tender potato gnocchi is to bake the potatoes instead of boiling them. A baked potato is dryer than one that has been boiled, which means you avoid having to add more flour to the dough to account for excess moisture, a practice that leads to over-kneaded, tough gnocchi.

On the clock, 30 minutes is practically nothing — but, on your gnocchi, that time span is everything. Once you cut and shape your gnocchi into those individual, signature pieces, you should let them rest for roughly 30 minutes.

Think crisp and golden-brown—not waterlogged and gummy.

Cooked gnocchi should have a light, squidgy texture, and should not be tough and chewy.

How to prepare gnocchi. Poach gnocchi in batches in a pan of lightly salted water for 2-4 minutes. Cooked gnocchi will float to the top. Strain and serve immediately with a good pasta sauce.

Potatoes have a lot of starch and by mashing them instead of ricing them, it it is harder to incorporate all of the other ingredients without overmixing. Overmixing is another cause of tough gnocchi.

Yes, gnocchi dough can be overworked by too much handling. Over-kneading the dough may result in creating too much gluten. This can lead to gnocchi that has a more chewy, rubbery texture. The key is to use as little flour as possible to create a light, airy texture.

However, you don't want to rush the gnocchi-making process; the shaped gnocchi needs time to rest before you throw it in a pot of water. Granted, this final resting step may seem like an unnecessary detour to your dinner. However, it's actually crucial for preserving its final shape and texture.