Sweet Potato Gnocchi Ricotta Pillows

This recipe was inspired by a dish I enjoyed a while ago in a restaurant in Yerushalayim. As soon as I tasted it, I knew I’d recreate it one day.

If you’ve never tried your hand at gnocchi before, don’t worry— the process isn’t hard. It can actually be a really fun project, especially together with family and friends. I used purple sweet potatoes because I was so excited to find them in my local supermarket.

After you’ve made the gnocchi, you can either freeze them to use for later, or boil and use right away.

Gnocchi

1 large sweet potato (1 ½ cups mashed)

1 ½ cups flour (plus more for dusting)

1 tsp salt

1 egg

8 oz ricotta cheese

¼ tsp salt

Cream sauce

1 onion, sliced

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 oz wild mushrooms, sliced

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup water

½ tsp salt

Handful of fresh basil leaves

Mix sweet potatoes with flour, salt and one egg. Gently knead, dusting with more flour as needed, until smooth but not elastic.

Divide the dough into two parts and roll out to ¼-inch thick rectangles (the width should be approximately 4-5 inches).

Place spoonsful of ricotta filling towards the right side of the dough, leaving a 1.5inch space between each spoonful.

Fold over left side of dough and press down around each mound of mixture to seal. Cut dough between each spoonful and tuck ends underneath to create individual pillows. Set aside.

To prepare the sauce, place onion slices, salt, sugar and olive oil in a skillet and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, until onions are golden. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add gnocchi pillows and basil leaves to the sauce, cover the skillet, and cook for 5-7 minutes.

Serve immediately and garnish with pecans.