Gnocchi with Sweet Potato and Sage Brown Butter Sauce

You can also use pumpkin purée or roasted butternut squash in place of the sweet potatoes.

Filling:
2 lb sweet potatoes
12 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
2½-3 cups flour

Sauce:
1 cup butter
6 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
sea salt
pepper, freshly cracked

Rinse sweet potatoes and pat dry. Pierce all over with a fork.

Microwave on high, about 5 minutes, or until tender. Cut in half and allow to cool. Scrape the potato flesh from the skin into a bowl and mash. You should have about 3 cups. Add ricotta, Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Blend well.

Add flour, ½ cup at a time, until a soft dough forms. The less flour that you need to incorporate the more tender the dough will be.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface.  Divide into 6 equal pieces. Form each piece into a 20" long rope about 1" in diameter.  Sprinkle with flour if the dough is too sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over the tines of a fork to indent.  Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, cook the gnocchi until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to a plate and allow to cool.  (Gnocchi can be made up to 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.)

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook until the butter starts to brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, add chopped sage, and season with salt and pepper.

Remove half of sage butter and set aside.  Add half of gnocchi to skillet and sauté until heated through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.

Makes 12 servings.