Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Turkey + Broccoli Rabe Pesto

A little while ago I wrote a post on on making homemade gnocchi. I love gnocchi. Something about rolling out little mounds of soft dough, shaping and squishing, is a tactile delight. Justin loves sweet potatoes so I wanted to develop a recipe combining the two.

Sweet potatoes are super good for you, but they also carry a lot more moisture than regular potatoes and are starchier. They create much firmer, denser gnocchi than regular taters, but they also hold up to a heartier sauce and have more flavor.

Broccoli rabe is sort of a mix between broccoli and collard greens. It's super delicious just blanched and sauteed with garlic, oil and anchovies. It has a ton of flavor and is the perfect foil for the sweetness of the potatoes.

I made a broccoli rabe - basil pesto inspired sauce. I threw in some ground turkey just for a little protein and meatiness, though you can leave it out if you want to make this is a vegetarian dish.











Note: The dough for sweet potato gnocchi is super sticky and tacky, seemingly no matter how much flour you put in. No worries. I made the gnocchi by pinching off little pieces of dough and rolling them around with flour.

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Don't you just love how anything sort of misshapen and ugly can be called "rustic"?

{Tossed in pesto}

These gnocchi are really filling. No seconds this time.

-Katie

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe Pesto

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients
For the gnocchi:
2 large sweet potatoes, about 1.75 lbs
1 egg
2 cups flour
Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper

For the sauce:
1 head broccoli rabe, stems removed
1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb ground turkey thigh
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 whole milk
Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper

1. First, to make the gnocchi, boil or bake the potatoes until done. Pass them through a food mill or mash with a fork until smooth. Let this cool for a while before adding the egg. Mix in the egg, a pinch of salt, pepper, and cayenne, and flour until a dough forms in the bowl.
2. Pinch off about half a tablespoon's worth of dough, roll in a bit of flour to keep it from sticking to your hands, and form into little balls. They won't be perfect! That's OK though.
3. Boil the gnocchi in water for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the top. Toss in the sauce.
4. For the sauce: Blanch the broccoli rabe in boiling water for 7-8 minutes. Transfer to an ice water bath for 5 minutes. Squeeze out as much of the water in the rabe as you can using a kitchen towel. 
5. In a food processor, blitz together the broccoli rabe, basil, olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes. 
6. On medium heat in a saucepan, brown the turkey thigh until cooked. Add the pesto, chicken broth, white wine, and more salt + pepper to taste (if needed). Let this reduce for 10 minutes or so until the sauce has reduced by half. Add the milk and Parmesan. It won't be a really creamy sauce. 
7. Toss the gnocchi with the sauce for 5 minutes or so until the gnocchi has absorbed some of the liquid. I had to cook the gnocchi in batches, so I just threw the dumplings into the sauce as I went.