Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Mushroom Reduction

My daughter Noele cooks by the seat of her pants like I do.  I used to be better at it, but I'm out of practice. Noele, on the other hand, is great at it.

Last night she made us a sweet potato gnocchi and topped it with a mushroom reduction. And once again, the flavors of her vegan dishes are really wonderful.

Sweet potato was a great base for the gnocchi. The sweet potato dough made pillows that were decently chewy but still light.

The mushrooms were super rich with distinguishable flavors of fruity wine, tart balsamic vinegar, and earthy fungus. They mixed really well with the gnocchi.

Given Noele's cooking style, here's the best recipes you'll get, but this should be enough for you to figure it out.

Noele's Sweet Potato Gnocci
1 large sweet potato
1½ cup flour
  1. Boil and mash the sweet potato
  2. Mix in about a cup of the flour, then roll the dough in the remaining flour until you get the texture you want
  3. Roll the dough into ropes, and cut them into bite-sized pillows
  4. Boil about 5 minutes

Noele's Mushroom Reduction
A bunch of wild mushrooms
Simon and Garfunkel spices (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)
A little olive oil
Red wine
Balsamic vinegar
  1. Finely chop the mushrooms
  2. Saute them in olive oil
  3. Add spices and saute some more
  4. Add the wine and vinegar and saute some more
  5. Add some of the gnocchi water as needed to get the right consistency