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Sweet potato gnocchi with spinach, vadouvan brown butter, and lemon

Yield: 4

Overview: make the gnocchi, finish the gnocchi in the pan sauce

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Ingredients

For the gnocchi

• 1 lb orange sweet potato (~ 1 large)
• 4 ½ oz all-purpose flour
• 1 oz parmesan
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

For the sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons vadouvan, store-bought or homemade
• 6 oz spinach
• juice of half a lemon

To serve

• chili flake
• freshly grated parmesan

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. 400°F with the fan on.
2. Roast the sweet potato. With a fork, pierce the skin of the sweet potato in several places and roast until completely soft (45-60 minutes).
3. Make the dough. When the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, cut in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Discard the skin. Mash the potato with a fork and let it cool for another 10 minutes. Add the remaining dough ingredients and mix until combined.
4. Shape the gnocchi. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Flour the top of the dough and cut it into 6 equal pieces. Flour the pieces and your work surface. Roll each piece into a ½-inch rope. Cut the ropes into ½-inch pieces (they look like little pillows). A bench scraper is the best tool here because you can leave the gnocchi ropes on the counter (if using a knife, transfer dough to a cutting board).
5. Cook the gnocchi. Bring a pot of water to the boil and season with salt. Add the gnocchi, and cook them until they float (3-4 minutes). You can cut one open to ensure that it’s cooked through.
6. Make the sauce. While the gnocchi cook, heat the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Cook until it browns and smells nutty (see tip). Add the vadouvan and swirl for a few seconds to incorporate. Stir in the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and a ¼ cup of pasta water. Cook for a minute more to wilt the spinach and coat the gnocchi with sauce. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice, and taste for seasoning.
7. Serve. Spoon the gnocchi into pasta bowls and garnish with chili flake and a generous shower of freshly grated parmesan.

Tip

Browning butter is cooking butter until the mild solids caramelize. It gives the butter a wonderful roasted flavor. Melt the butter over medium to medium low heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until it smells nutty and the solids at the bottom turn light brown. Lower heat takes longer, but it’s easier to avoid burning.

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