Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Sensational Thanksgiving Sides

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (107)

Cook Time:
15 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
6 to 8 servings (about 105 gnocchi)

Times:

Prep: 40 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 15 min
Total:: 55 min

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Ingredients

For the Gnocchi:

2 pounds sweet potatoes
2/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

For the Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
20 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the Gnocchi: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender and fully cooked, between 40 to 55 minutes depending on size. Cool slightly. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes and transfer to a large measuring cup to make sure the sweet potatoes measure about 2 cups. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and blend until well mixed. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi in 3 batches and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the gnocchi using a slotted spoon onto a baking sheet. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue with the remaining gnocchi.

For the Brown Butter sauce: While the gnocchi are cooking melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves. Continue to cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids begin to brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Careful, the mixture will bubble up. Gently stir the mixture. When the bubbles subside, toss the cooked gnocchi in the brown butter. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving dish and serve immediately.

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Giada De Laurentiis's Thanksgiving Menu

AppetizerItalian Greens and Herb Salad
Main DishTurkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus
Side DishCiabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta
DessertChocolate-Hazelnut Tart

Giada De Laurentiis's Thanksgiving Menu (11)

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter
Jaime New Brunswick, NJ 02-08-2010
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My "ropes of dough" looked more like lines of goop!
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I too followed this recipe letter by letter. My hands were covered in the doughy goop and I just couldn't get the... consistency right. Giada was saying, "It should roll into ropes of dough that you cut into 1 inch pieces" and mine was like a blob of dough smushed into the shape of a line!! I was so frustrated that I started crying and asked my boyfriend to re-read the recipe to see what I missed. All he could do to help me was to keep sprinkling flour to thicken the dough because my hands were too goopy to do it.Read more
recipe Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter
null null, null 01-04-2010
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Tried this recipe twice.
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

The first time I used too much flour because the dough was verrrry sticky. They were very very doughy when finished and did... not taste good at all. The second time I used exact measurements, especially the flour. The dough was much easier to roll out, but was still very sticky. When they finished cooking, I tried one and it was very bland. I would not recommend this recipe.Read more
recipe Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter
kari chicago, IL 12-18-2009
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Bland and Doughy
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I was really disappointed with the taste of this recipe. This was very time consuming, which is fine if the end product... tastes great... this did not. I followed this recipe to the letter and it turned out bland and doughy. I DID NOT add extra flour as others have. I did not taste sweet potato in this at all. All I tasted was flour and cinnamon. The consistancy was okay. I actually cooked the first batch for 5-6 minutes like the recipe stated and they turned into a ball of mush. The second batch I cooked for only 3-4 minutes and they came out firm like gnocchi should be. Also, I only ate a small amount of this at dinner and it made me sick to my stomach... To heavy and doughy. Don't waste your time with this.Read more
recipe Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter
Dolores Williamsport, PA 12-13-2009
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Super Good
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

A couple of things I noticed about this recipe. Be sure to drain your ricotta in cheese cloth for at least an hour or two. If... you do not do this, there is more moisture in your mix - more moisture means more flour - more flour means tough gnocci. For the same reason be sure to poke holes in your sweet potato so they give up some of their moisture while baking. Scoop out the potato and then let cool. If they seem really moist you can put the pulp in the oven, with the door open, on low heat to dry them out a little so they don't need so much flour. I also prefer fresh grated nutmeg to cinnamon. And.. I put a little crispy bacon crumbled on top to give the dish a little balance - without it - a little sweet. Read more
recipe Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter
Sondra Plattsmouth, NE 12-08-2009
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so many different reviews!!!
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I feel that I am a more than proficient cook and wanted to try to do something different with sweet potatoes. I followed the... recipe to the letter and was so poorly disappointed with the results! I'm not sure what the recipe actually needs, but I definitely didn't end up with gnocchi. My boiling water was so thick when I finished because the gnocchi kept just dissolving in the water. I've had gnocchi at restaurants and I just love them! These gnocchi were just heavy blobs of dough. Even after boiling longer than the recipe said, they still seemed mushy and half-cooked. Sorry Giada but this recipe was a failure for me and it seems a lot of other people. I don't understand how so many people have gotten such different results, good and bad. Maybe the people that it has turned out for know something we others don't. Read more
recipe Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter
Amy Killeen, TX 12-04-2009
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Yummy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made the gnocchi a few weeks beforehand and froze them - what a time saver! When ready to serve, all I had to do was cook... the gnocchi and throw the sauce together. It took just minutes and they were wonderful! My suggestion is to not boil the heck out of them or they will fall apart and leave you with a gooey mess. Read more