Comfort food dressed up for spring. There is something special about these slower recipes, especially this one which calls for an afternoon in the woods picking nettles. Though, if you aren’t a confident forager, many specialty grocers in town have nettles this time of year.
Ingredients
2 med sweet potatoes - white not orange
1/2 cup nettle puree*
2 eggs
2 - 2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour**
Optional: 1tsp liquid chlorophyll to enhance the beautiful color
Directions:
Boil or bake your potatoes until very tender. Let cool and remove the skin. In a bowl or on a flat surface combine eggs, flour and potato and knead until a dough forms. Start with 2 cups flour and add by the tbsp until the right consistency is achieved. (The amount will vary each time depending on the size of your potatoes & eggs)
On a floured surface roll sections of dough into long snake shapes and then cut into 1” pieces, dust with flour to keep from sticking.
Working in batches drop your gnocchi pieces into salted boiling water, remove with a slatted spoon when they float to the top.
If you like a softer gnocchi you can add them to your sauce now
If like me, you like them a bit firmer, you can transfer them to a warm oiled skillet and brown them on each side with some salt and garlic.
I like to serve these with arugula pesto or wild green pesto.
* To make nettle puree - add your nettles to a pot of boiling water and blanch for 3-5 minutes to remove the sting. Strain into a colander and rinse with cold water. Add nettles to a blender and puree.
** I’ve used gf flour mix, paleo flour mix and a combination of tapioca & coconut flours- all have worked well in this recipe.