Dual Colored Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I had a post written for today that was not this.  Then, for lunch yesterday I made these gnocchi and threw all plans out the window.  I had to share these with you!  Not only are they visually gorgeous, but these little dough pillows are vegan and gluten-free.  They also happen to be extremely tasty, not to mention nutritious!  

The idea for this pasta came from some organic purple sweet potatoes my aunt Barbara brought for me when she came over for Christmas.  I have seen purple sweet potatoes once before, but this was my first time I actually got use them.  They are so vibrant and I really wanted to cook them so that their gorgeous color was on display.  I decided gnocchi were the perfect food.  To enhance the purple color, I also used some orange sweet potato dough.  The pop of color in this dish is enough to brighten any dreary day.  Here in New Jersey, we are in the midst of a huge snow storm so I might be making these beauties again for lunch today...:)

This is only the second time I have made a recipe using only coconut flour.  Last time, I made coconut blueberry buttermilk pancakes which are super tasty and defiantly worth trying.  What I really love about them is the fact that I can eat an absurd number of pancakes without feeling guilty because they have much less flour in them.  A little coconut flour is all you need to get the same effect as regular wheat flour.  There is only a little over a half a cup of flour in this pasta and the portions for each serving are enormous.  Only two tablespoons of flour per serving!   Not bad at all.

Because these are made with coconut flour you have to bake the gnocchi in the oven as opposed to dropping them in water, otherwise they will dissolve.  I learned that the hard way.  Baking gives them a crisp outside and soft, chewy inside.  To complete the dish, I sautéed the cooked pasta in coconut oil with garlic.  The sweetness of the potatoes pairs perfectly with the coconut oil.  I ate them over a bed of arugula to add a peppery flavor that would compliment the sweet dough.  With a squeeze of orange, dash of nutmeg, and handful of hemp seeds, this is truly a meal worth craving!

Dual Colored Sweet Potato Gnocchi
vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free

Yield: 4 servings

For Purple Potato Dough:
2 medium purple sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp ground flax seed
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp water
4 Tbsp coconut flour*
14/ tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

For Orange Potato Dough:
2 medium orange sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp ground flax seed
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp water
5 Tbsp  + 1 tsp coconut flour*
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup coconut oil
4 tsps garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup hemp hearts
nutmeg, for sprinkling
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1/2 orange, juiced
1 tsp orange zest
4-6 cups arugula

*I have found that orange sweet potatoes are much more moist than purple sweet potatoes.  Start with 4 Tbsp coconut flour, and slowly add the rest until a dough-like consistency is reached.

Directions:
1.  Bring two small pots of water to a boil.  While waiting for the pots to boil, peel and cube the sweet potatoes, keeping the purple and orange ones separate.  Add potatoes separately to the boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potato chunks are tender when poked with a fork.  Drain potatoes separately.

2.  In separate bowls, mix ground flax seeds with water and set aside.  Add potatoes, one color at a time, to a food processor and process until smooth paste forms.  Wash the base between potato colors.  Add all ingredients for each dough to the potato puree.  Roll into a ball and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cut each dough ball into four pieces.  Roll out each piece until it is about an inch thick.  The dough is delicate so be gentle while rolling it out.  You can add water to help keep the dough from breaking (I had to use a little water to roll out the purple potato dough).

4.  Put one orange and one purple dough log next to each other and pinch the orange dough to the purple dough, making something that looks like a giant hot dog.   Gently roll the log until the two doughs seem mended together.  Cut into half inch pieces and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

5.  Press the dough with a fork to create ridges on the top.  Gently push the dough off the fork prongs, and curl the ends towards each other.  Place back on the parchment pan.  Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they reach your desired crispness.

6.  When you take the gnocchi out of the oven, heat oil in a pan with the garlic on medium. When the garlic is fragrant, add gnocchi and sauté until all gnocchi are coated with oil.  Add more oil as necessary.

7.  To serve, place gnocchi over arugula.  Drizzle with orange juice and sprinkle with hemp seeds, orange zest, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Dig in!