Nutritious take on the traditional potato dumplings. Sweet potato pasta with a warm brown sage sauce and bitter greens.
If the last name was not enough of a giveaway, I’m shaped with some solid Italian roots. We still have ties to my family back in Italy, coming from various regions including Tricaico, Napolitan and Abruzese. My family lines journeyed over the Atlantic bringing with them all the wonderful flavors of Italian cooking. I was introduced to cooking at a young age and I’m still fascinated. Some of my best childhood memories involve making a mess of the kitchen with my grandparents, experimenting with different foods and spices. But what I loved about it most was this time spent with my family; it was so much fun(!) and I didn’t realize it then but I also learned so much about food, cooking and life really.
Food brings people together just the mere smells can trigger memories of time well spent. Since March is national nutrition month I wanted to pay homage to the amazingness of food. Food is actually pretty awesome, it has the power to bring us together, to spark up our creative side, nourish our cells and even heal us. Not to mention it’s delicious! It brings life to our lives, so as we would say at my dinner table “Salute!” which is a toast that literally means “health” in Italian.
The Gnocchi
Gnocchi is potato dumpling pasta prepared with white potato and all purpose flour traditionally served with a slowly cooked tomato sauce and several types of meat (braciole, hot sausage, and meatballs). Gnocchi is deemed a delicacy in my family and has been a centerpiece on our families’ table for generations. The gnocchi have always been prepared by my grandmother who learned how to make it from her grandmother but now yours truly will be taking over the reigns. Sorry to disappoint but the original is matchless and I will not be sharing, today at least. The original recipe might make its way on here in the future but no promises.
Instead today I wanted to share with you a sweet potato gnocchi recipe that is absolutely delicious on it’s own wave. A summer night rooftop dinner in NYC inspired me to re-create these little dumplings. But the recipe I crafted has Italian flare featuring a favorite Italian green leafy vegetable, broccoli rabe <3. Broccoli rabe when cooked is tender and delightfully bitter. As many of you have grasped from the Guide to Greens, squeezing in greens at each meal is an eternal goal of mine. Greens provide us with essential fatty acids, fiber and vitamins like vitamin K, A and minerals magnesium, calcium. While you could easily hold the broccoli rabe I challenge you to embrace it’s bitter goodness. If you are new to broccoli rabe it’s an opportunity to go further with food and if it’s not for you, spinach is a decent swap.
- Gnocchi
- 1 cup sweet potato, roasted, cooled skinned*
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup arrowroot starch
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- Warm Brown Sage Sauce with Broccoli Rabe
- 1 head of broccoli rabe, cleaned, finely chopped (stems, leaves and flowers)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil or grass fed butter
- 2 tablespoon sage, finely chopped
- pinch of salt
- black pepper
- 1.For the gnocchi: Stick the sweet potato a few times with a fork, wrap in a damp paper towel, and microwave until soft, about 7 minutes.Or bake the sweet potato in the oven, which will take closer to an hour.*
- 2.Scoop the flesh of the sweet potato into a mixing bowl. Discard the skin.
- 3.Add flour, nutmeg, salt and knead together until it forms a ball, that is easy to handle.
- 4.Transfer the ball to a floured surface and shape it into a loaf.Slice off of the loaf on the short side. 5.Roll and stretch the slice on a floured surface until it forms a long, skinny rope-like shape (like you would to make a pretzel). Cut the rope of dough into 1-inch pieces and use the back of a fork to gentle roll the pasta to form your gnocchi.
- 6.Bring a large pot of water to a boil, gently place in gnocchi. They will float when ready
- In a separate pan heat oil - add garlic, sage and sauté until fragrant.
- 7.Add the broccoli rabe, sauté until tender but still bright green.
- 8.Add in vegetable broth.
- 9.Spoon cooked gnocchi into pan with broccoli rabe and coat with sage sauce.
- 10.Serve and Enjoy!
- Use a sweet potato that has been roasted in oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes then cooled. Best when you have some leftover from batch cooking
Hope you enjoy this recipe! Also in the spirit of National Nutrition Month, I challenge you to cook up something new. Share with me your creation on your IG story with #sidebarnutrition
Last but not least please sign up for my monthly newsletters to stay on track with nutrition news wellness trends and special offers! 🙂
With Lots of Love,
J
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