Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Spinach Sauce

Sometimes it feels like an ongoing battle keeping weekly meals exciting. Both lunch and dinner. It's so easy to fall into a habit of eating the same thing week by week. If this works for you (you fantastic meal prep guys out there), then that is fantastic. But as a person that experiences food fatigue and cannot consume the same meal multiple times within a short time frame, I find that I constantly need to be thinking creatively in the kitchen. It is from this place that we come to sweet potato gnocchi.

I think I've developed good habits when it comes to keeping my dinners creative. I shop once a week, usually on a Sunday, and I go to the grocery store now with a full plan of the ingredients I need to make my meals for the week.

Planning like this does a few things:

• It reduces waste. No longer am I buying vegetables that will live in my crisper for seven days only to be thrown out at the end of the following week untouched and wilted.
• It saves you money. Again, you're not buying unnecessary food and ingredients for dishes that you won't be cooking. You can be more certain that the food you are buying will be utilised in the week.
• There is more of an opportunity to be creative. Add in recipes you've never tried before and ensure you are purchasing the correct ingredients to make said recipe during the week.

The last one is a big one for me, and this has been key to my creativity for a number of years now. Planning your meals means you can sit down and trawl through the 1000 cookbooks sitting on your bookshelf (me) or the 40 cooking magazines you have had delivered as a monthly subscription for the past three years (also me).

Last week I was trawling the internet and Pinterest for food recipes, as I usually do and I come to Pinch of Yum's gnocchi recipe. Sounds delicious, looks delicious and I think, why not? Let's throw it on the menu for next week. This recipe is simple - typically you're going to have majority of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge already. It's tasty - who doesn't love sweet potato, gnocchi and creamy sauce? It's vibrant - it makes for a great photo and you can 'gram it to your heart's content. Most importantly, it's easy - make it and serve it in 30 minutes.

Sweet potato gnocchi with creamy spinach sauce

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A warm, fuzzy bowl of goodness - this sweet potato gnocchi is bound to knock your socks off.

• Author: Andrea
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 people 1x
• Category: Main Course

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Sweet potato gnocchi

• 600 g sweet potato
• 250 g ricotta cheese
• ½ cup finely grated parmesan
• 1.5 cups plain flour
• ½ tsp salt

Creamy spinach sauce

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 300 mL cream
• ¾ cup green peas (defrosted)
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• Parmesan (to serve)

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Instructions

1. Prick sweet potato/s with a fork roughly and cook one of two ways: preheat oven to 180ºC, place sweet potato on a baking paper-lined tray and bake for 40 minutes or until insides are soft. Or, wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 7-9 minutes until insides are soft. Remove from oven or microwave and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
2. Slice open sweet potato and scoop soft flesh into a bowl. Add ricotta and parmesan. Slowly add flour half a cup at a time, mixing and kneading until well combined. Turn out on to a floured surface.
3. Dough is ready when it is no longer sticky and springs back slightly at the touch. If dough is sticky, add small amounts of flour and knead in. Shape dough into a large log and cut into four even pieces.
4. With each cut piece roll into a long rope shape, approximately two centimetres in thickness. Using a sharp knife or a dough cutter, slice into gnocchi-sized pieces. From here, you can shape as you wish: roll down a gnocchi board for the classic ridges, or a fork for similar effect, or leave as is.
5. To make the sauce, add olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Sauté until soft before adding cream. Bring cream to a boil before reducing heat and allowing to simmer.
6. Add spinach, salt and pepper to taste. Stir until spinach has wilted and sauce has thickened. Add green peas. Meanwhile, bring a salted pot of water to the boil and cook gnocchi for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the surface. Drain and add straight to the sauce.
7. Divide gnocchi between bowls and top with parmesan to serve. Eat piping hot.