I never thought that having too much free time in my hands, would...make me want to do many things at the same time! Generally speaking, I am known for taking up a lot of projects and very rarely saying no. If I am not collapsing, it means I can do it. It's not always the best way to think or live, but I just get this urge to do a lot of things so that I don't feel my day is lost. However, there are a few days I do completely nothing, so I guess there is a sort of balance in the universe. Even though it doesn't look like it.
With all this time in my hands I had to try to make something really special for the blog. Italian cuisine is one of my most adored ones, and pasta is right in the centre of my admiration. I have this future plan on my mind, in which I go to Italy for at least a month, specifically Modena, and take up some pasta making classes. Like the one Naziz took in "Master of None", before he became a professional in making fresh pasta. My friends know me for making a lot of things myself, like peanut butter, almond butter, hummus, plant-based mylk or breakfast bars. The only thing I haven't given into yet is fermented food, only because I am scared of forgetting to do the right steps and end up with a pile of smelly junk.
But homemade, fresh pasta has always been my secret guilt pleasure. Who hasn't tasted fresh ravioli and said "Oh, my God, this is good!"? I tell you who. Nobody. And yes, I am that positive about it. My first experiment I thought could be gnocchi. They don't ask for a pasta making machine (which I don't own) and they are a bit easier I think to make and store. As good as this sounds, they are not easy to make. Of course, I knew that the first time would be sort of difficult for me, but that didn't keep me behind. I followed the recipe of Italian Food Forever for these gnocchis. During the process of making the dough, I realised that I had to readjust it and asked my boyfriend for help! If you think about it we are the perfect couple. I ask him for questions on cooking and he asks me for help when he is sick.
Sweet Potato & Ricotta gnocchi with Brown Butter & Rosemary
(listening to Italian music while making is a must)
ingredients (for 6 persons)
2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes)
1/2 cup ricotta (full fat and drained)
1 large egg yolk
2 to 3 cups of flour (approximately)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
for the sauce
150gr butter
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
salt
pepper
How do I make it?
1. For the mashed potatoes, you can simply clean the potatoes, make some cuts on the potato with a knife (be careful) and bake them for about 30 to 40 minutes on grill. Check with a fork to see if they are ready, they should be extra soft. Leave them cool completely, take out the skin and try mashing them with a fork in a bowl. I made the mistake of not waiting for the potatoes to cool completely, and I ended up with a very moist dough.
2. Once your potatoes are ready, use a bigger bowl or your electric mixer and put inside the mashed potatoes, ricotta, egg yolk, salt and pepper. Mix very well until everything is incorporated. Then, using 1/2 a cup each time, add the flour and mix the dough. I suggest adding 1/2 cup at a time, because it's better for the dough and you can see if you need all the cups or not. Your dough should be soft and easy to handle. A wet dough is not ideal.
3. When you feel your dough is soft and ready, flour a clean surface and place your dough on top. Take a small portion on your hands start rolling it on the surface into a 2,3cm roll approximately. Then take a knife and cut small pieces. There are a lot of ways to roll or shape your gnocchi. This demands a lot of practice and I found the perfect video to show you how to shape them appropriately. Have a look at it, it will help you a lot.
4. Once you are done with shaping the gnocchi, put in a large pot some water to boil. When the water is ready, put inside carefully the gnocchi and let them cook. They will be ready when they come on the surface of the water like floating.
5. In the meanwhile, use a medium pan and melt the butter on medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble pour inside the rosemary leaves , salt and pepper. Mix a little bit and then let everything cook. The butter should start getting a light brown appearance. It's ok, we want it to be like this! You're going to keep cooking the butter for about 6 to 8 minutes after adding the rosemary.
6. When both gnocchi and sauce are ready, transfer the cooked gnocchi into the pan with the sauce and toss lightly. Serve when it's still hot and enjoy as it is. You could add some grated parmesan on top or some more grated black pepper.
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