Could not find any fresh sage at the grocery store, so I opted for dried bay leaves. That did the trick :)As an Italian it runs in your blood that you must eat gnocchi... unless your my dad. Apparently he doesn't like gnocchi, that's just crazy talk in my opinion.
I have never had any interest in making gnocchi up until recently. I've seen so many bloggers posting about gnocchi that I figured I should jump on the bandwagon and do it as well. I wanted to do sweet potato though. Ever since I've started eating sushi, I have fallen in-love with sweet potato. Also, since I have only seen potato gnocchi in stores I figured I may never try sweet potato gnocchi unless I make it myself. So I got up, went and bought my sweet potatoes, came home and got to work.
At first I was dreading what I had gotten myself into. I had microwaved the sweet potatoes for TEN minutes. I then used a fork... well that was just way too time consuming. So I got out... this tool that I don't know the name for, bakers use it to mix dough. Got that, it worked like a charm, then, we got down to chunks, and well, those just weren't going away. Listening to my mom, I took out the potato masher. Well here, I was just getting frustrated. My arms have been in so much pain lately, and doing this was just craziness. I thought my arms were going to fall off. The chunks were not disappearing and well, my anger was coming on strong.
I decided to just start making the gnocchi, I couldn't mash any longer, my arms were in too much pain. So... they were the ugliest things I had ever seen. There were chunks sticking out from every corner, but I was not in the mood to mash anymore. After about 20 of them, I was so upset with my work and the way it looked that I took a break.
When I came back, I decided to start taking the chunks out. I had boiled water and tried a few of the "ugly" ones, and they kept their s
hape, and tasted good, so I knew I was on the right track even if they were the ugliest things I have ever made. By taking the chunks out, and dipping my fork in flour each time they turned from ugly mush, to beautiful gnocchi's. I was so so so happy. My arms were still killing me, but I was happy, so I knew I had to keep on. And keeping on is what I did for THREE whole hours non-stop. Oh boy, was that ever hard work. If ever you have homemade gnocchi, thank whoever made them for you, because they really are time consuming. I wish I had had someone to help me out with them, but it was nice. I was able to say that I made them from scratch and that's a great feeling.It was only my mom and I who were eating them, so I got to freeze 3/4
's of the batch! More for me next time. My mom liked them, however, she found them to be too sweet. I agree, they were extremely sweet, but as a dinner food you don't really get "sweet" so I really enjoyed them. I would say though, if you're not a sweet's person, perhaps add more butter and less maple syrup to the sauce. Or even add more cinnamon and nutmeg to offset the sweet. Up to you :)As a side note, if you're wanting to freeze your gnocchi, don't just place them in a bag or container or else they will stick to one another. Place them on a baking sheet, cutting board, anything really with a flat surface and stick in the freezer. I had mine in there for approximately forty minutes. When they are frozen you can then move them to a Ziploc or airtight container.
In the end, I am so glad I tried this. I cannot wait to try and make potato gnocchi, I am really interested in making spinach and goat cheese gnocchi... mmm mmm mmm!
I did not find that these were sticky or anything. As mentioned in the link where I found this recipe, you aren't supposed to add too much flour or else that will happen. I added 1/2 cup to the original mix, then as I was rolling them, I had VERY LITTLE flour on my board, and only added some to the fork. All in all, I would say I used less than a cup of flour in total.I figure'd I might as well post the potato gnocchi here as well since it is the same category. Yes, it might not of turned out when I made them for my brother, but when I was making them, I did boil quite a few and they worked out. I think I might of just put too many in the water, or because I got distracted with other dishes that I left them in for too long. I have some left over's so I will be making them again to try them out. The recipe did work out before so we will see.
And this is the recipe I used, http://iowagirleats.com/2010/03/18/how-to-make-gnocchi-gnocchi-recipe/ the only thing I added was peppercorn goat cheese.I will post an update when I make the gnocchi again!
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