Sweet Potato Gnocci

I will be the first to admit Gnocci is time consuming, but it is also pretty simple. We split up dinner responsibilities in our house by cooking a big pot of soup on Sunday, which we eat through the week, and then we each take a night to cook. Basically, I only cook a big dinner once a week, so taking a little time to go overboard isn't a big deal.

Okay, so here's what you do:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil and simmer three large sweet potatoes (unpeeled) for about 40 minutes

• Peel the potatoes (the skins should slide right off) and mash them up, either with a potato masher or in a food processor
• Add two tablespoons of lemon juice, a dash of salt, and some spices of our choice. I used some ground cloves, ground ginger, and a little cinnamon. 
• Add white flour, about a cup at a time, and mix as you would bread dough until you get a a consistency that holds together without being stiff. 
• Knead out on the counter a couple times, but avoid over kneading, you don't want to develop gluten or you will get chewy stiff dumplings. 
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil
• Roll out your dough into a snake and cut up into dumplings. Mash the sides with a fork to form gnocci's characteristic ridges. 
• Drop dumplings in the water a few at a time. When they are done they will rise to the surface of the water (about 1 minute)
• move them to a bowl and douse them with a little olive oil so they don't stick together. Alternatively, brown them in a pan with butter and some sage and thyme. 

These are great served just with oil or butter, or you can serve them with a little tomato sauce (although that can be a little too sweet for me). Enjoy!