Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Citrus Cream (slightly adapted from Kraft
Recipes, Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes; Servings: 8)
Ingredients
· 2 lb. sweet potatoes
(about 4 large)
· ½ cup Part-Skim
Ricotta Cheese
· ½ cup Grated Parmesan
Cheese, divided
· 1 tsp. salt
· 3 cups flour
· 1 pkg. (8 oz.)
1/3 Less Fat or Fat-Free Cream Cheese, cubed
· 1-3/4 cups skim milk
· 2 Tbsp. margarine
· ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
· 1 tsp. orange zest
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
2. Prick potatoes several
times with fork; place on foil-covered baking sheet. Bake 45 min. to 1 hour or
just until tender. Cool slightly. Scoop potato flesh into large bowl; mash
until almost smooth. Layer paper towels on baking sheet; spoon potatoes onto towels
to drain. Replace paper towels as necessary until potatoes are stiff but not
dry. Spoon into large bowl.
3. Add ricotta, ¼ cup
Parmesan and salt; mix well. Stir in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until mixture
forms soft dough. Place on lightly floured surface; knead in additional flour
if necessary until dough is no longer sticky.
4. Cut dough into 8 equal
portions. Roll each portion on floured surface into 3/4-inch-thick rope. Cut
into 3/4-inch pieces. Roll each piece into ball, dusting with additional flour
if needed. Press each dough ball onto back of fork tines to form ridges on one
side, pressing with thumb so that dough piece becomes indented with thumb on
other side. Place in single layer on waxed paper-covered baking sheets.
5. Add half the gnocchi
to large pot of boiling water; stir. Cook 4 min. or until gnocchi float to
surface. Remove with slotted spoon to colander; drain. Repeat with remaining
gnocchi.
6. Cook cream cheese,
milk, margarine, nutmeg and remaining Parmesan in saucepan on low heat 10 to 15
min. or until cream cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring
occasionally. Stir in zest.
The gnocchi takes a while to make, but it is very tasty. Soft and
chewy, but not too chewy. I definitely think that it is worth the time it
takes to make, but if you don’t like sweet potatoes, I would not recommend it!
The sauce is a different story for me (and my husband), we did not like it –
because of the orange zest. It was just a little too far outside of our
comfort zone. I think that when I make this again, I will leave that
ingredient out, but add some garlic or Italian seasoning. The dish
as a whole is very filling and I am excited to try it again. Don’t be
scared about adding too much flour – I had to add a lot in order to get the
dough from being sticky (and, in the end, it was STILL sticky).
