We made Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Yo guys. It's been a while, we know. But a lot of cooking has been going down since October (!), it's just been a busy busy fall, so our poor blog has been neglected. Hope everyone is having a very nice Christmas Eve right now. At this very moment, I am watching a DVD of a 1978 Bruce Springsteen concert with my dad and bro and drinking some Silk Nog.

Alena, Nat and I made this dish back in early November, and it was so good Alena ended up making it again for her family as a Thanksgiving side dish.

It's really way easier than it looks, just a little time consuming. It's the kind of thing that works best with a couple roommates to make the gnocchis in an assembly line. But it is FREAKING DELICIOUS and healthier and more flavorful than regular potato gnocchi.

We only followed this recipes for the gnocchis themselves. Instead of the sage butter, we made a simple white wine/arugula/garlic/parmesan sauce. (Sautee some garlic and red pepper in olive oil, add a lotta wine, let it reduce a little, then add the arugula, cook for a couple minutes until wilted, then sprinkle in maybe 1/3 c parm, stirring briskly so the sauce gets a creamy texture.)

BUT Alena made the sage butter for Thanksgiving and said it was also great.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

• 2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork
• 1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.

Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.