Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Spinach and Walnuts

This easy recipe for sweet potato gnocchi with spinach and walnuts is fun to make and scrumptious to eat!

One of the side benefits of the holiday season is that there are things in the stores that are sometimes hard to find other times of year.

Peppermint Bark, for example. Cranberries. And one of my faves…sweet potatoes!

And while I am all for having a plain old baked sweet potato with butter, I also love making us sweet potato gnocchi, which I promise is not hard.

It’s actually a great project to do with the kiddos, and will exponentially increase your chances that they will eat their sweet potatoes for supper.

Side note: the meadow in back of our house has not gotten the memo that it is November…or maybe this is how November is supposed to look in North Carolina?

Either way, it makes me smile every time I look out the back windows. Hang in there, little flowers!

Back at the gnocchi, this recipe is not only full of sweet potato goodness, it’s also got baby spinach and walnuts and Parmesan cheese. It’s a bowl of deliciousness!

Here’s how you make sweet potato gnocchi with spinach and walnuts!

Poke a few holes in a pound of sweet potatoes with a fork, wrap them in a damp paper towel and cook them in the microwave for 6-8 minutes or until tender.  

When they are cool enough to handle, scoop as much of the sweet potato insides as you can manage into a large mixing bowl.  Mash it up a little with a potato masher or a fork.

Add 1 cup of ricotta, an egg, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and a pinch each of salt and pepper to the potato and mix it all up well.  

Add a cup and a quarter of flour in about ½ cup increments, mixing it in gently with clean hands, until you have a soft dough.

Now comes the gnocchi-making part! Dust your counter with a little flour.  Divide the dough into four sections, and then roll each section into a rope on your floured surface – you want it to be about one inch thick or so.

Use a sharp knife to cut the ropes into 1 inch long gnocchis.  If you want to get extra fancy, you can gently press the tine of a fork into each one to get those classic gnocchi lines – they help hold the sauce!

Now let’s make that sauce!  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large deep skillet over medium high heat.  

Add ½ cup of white wine, then a pound of baby spinach and cook until wilted, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the walnuts and a little more Parmesan and toss.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Now! Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it liberally.  Add your beautiful  gnocchi and cook it until they float to the top.  

Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and add them to the skillet with the sauce.  Toss very gently.

Scoop out a cup or so of the water the gnocchi cooked in and drizzle enough into the skillet to make a light sauce, tossing gently again as you go.

Divide among warmed bowls, garnish with Parmesan and a little fresh ground pepper and serve it up!

And hurray for sweet potato season!

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