Chef Ellard with la famiglia Rigassio/Rizzo in Rondissone, Italia
When I visited my Italian family (the Rigassio's) in Rondissone, Italy, they served the best home-made gnocchi I've ever tasted. I asked them for the recipe and they sent it to me!
Fast forward many years when I found myself living in Hawai'i where I discovered the magical purple sweet potatoes. They are rich in nutrients, taste amazing plain, and beautifully are colored. I decided to use my families recipe, but substitute purple potatoes where it called for yellow potatoes. I can tell you that it works!
As a chef/Manager at a retreat center in Hawai'i called Kalanihonua I often had to develop recipes for 150 people (this recipe can be easily scaled up) and bring my Ohana (Hawaiian family) together, put on some Dean Martin, break out the red wine and make this delicate pasta. Here is a video of just such an occasion.
Gnocchi is a great food to get the whole family involved in making! Enjoy the recipe from my family to yours.
Mangia di statti zitto!
Chef Ellard
Fast forward many years when I found myself living in Hawai'i where I discovered the magical purple sweet potatoes. They are rich in nutrients, taste amazing plain, and beautifully are colored. I decided to use my families recipe, but substitute purple potatoes where it called for yellow potatoes. I can tell you that it works!
As a chef/Manager at a retreat center in Hawai'i called Kalanihonua I often had to develop recipes for 150 people (this recipe can be easily scaled up) and bring my Ohana (Hawaiian family) together, put on some Dean Martin, break out the red wine and make this delicate pasta. Here is a video of just such an occasion.
Gnocchi is a great food to get the whole family involved in making! Enjoy the recipe from my family to yours.
Mangia di statti zitto!
Chef Ellard
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Chef Ellard’s Purple Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 egg
3 cups purple sweet potatoes
1 cups flour
1 tsp salt
Directions
Peel and boil the potatoes. Make sure they are cooked well until very soft. Mash the potatoes with a fork and set aside.
Add the flour and salt to the smashed potatoes making a volcano shaped hole in the top of the flour pile. Crack the egg in the volcano and beat the egg. Now mix all the ingredients by hand adding a little more flour until the loaf is not sticky. Don't add too much flour or the gnocchi will be too heavy.
Cut the loaf into little pieces of mixture and roll out into long cylinders.
With a knife cut each cylinder into little pieces of about 1 inch.
Dust them with flour again.
Finally to give them their typical shape of “gnocchi”, put the gnoccho (yes there is a singular for gnocchi) on the tines of the fork and dig in with your thumb rolling it off the fork.
Bring a pot of salted water to a low boil. Put the gnocchi in. When they are done they will float to the top. No guesswork!
Scoop off with a slotted spoon. Toss in olive oil and fresh rosemary or brown butter with fresh sage.
Check out the video below if you have questions on how it's done!
