Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sauteed Pork Chops and Apple – $1.15

So the other night I asked one of my roommates, “What kind of pasta can you make without a pasta roller?” since I had like NO food left. I thought, well hey, gnocchi is done by hand but I don’t have any potatoes. Oh yes I do! Sweet potatoes! After asking her, “I wonder if you can make sweet potato gnocchi?”, I soon started on my experiment.

So, cook your sweet potato whatever way you want. If you’re not anti-microwave, I suggest that way.

Peel it.

Then with a chef’s knife or spoon, spread it out on your cutting board to smooth it out and get the chunks out. This will also cool the potato so it doesn’t cook the egg when you add it soon.

Get about a cup or so of flour, put it on your cutting board or counter, make a well in the middle, add an egg and the sweet potato.

Incorporate the ingredients with your hands and knead the dough just until it forms a ball.

Cut it in about 4 pieces and roll the dough out to be about the width of your fingers.

Cut the rolls into about 3/4″ or 1″ sections. Roll each one in your hand just so the edges look like little pillows like the picture.

So take a fork and put it upside down on the counter. Put the gnocchi piece on top and smoothly but firmly roll the dumpling down the entire length of the fork with your thumb.

See….

Awww ain’t they cute?

Go ahead and get some water boiling for your pasta. Now for your pork- just heat up a pan till it’s super hot, add a little oil, then add your pork with some salt. Because these were so thin, I cooked them quickly at high heat.

Once the water’s boiling, add your gnocchi and when they float on the top (which shouldn’t be more than 4-5 minutes), drain them and set aside.

Sorry about the terrible picture. Hey, I’m shooting in a nasty, low light kitchen usually in the evenings so I take what I can get! In a heated, greased pan, you’re going to add your spices before anything else. I know that sounds weird, but doing this really wakes up the spices! Add cinnamon, nutmeg, sage and some cayenne pepper. Ok so the sage and pepper sound weird together with the sweet spices, but TRUST ME, the flavors work perfectly together in the end.

After only about 5-10 seconds of the spices cooking in the oil, add your cooked gnocchi and toss for a few minutes and put on your plate.

Now add a little bit of fresh apple to that same pan once you take the pasta out. I like cutting them like this below so they look pretty on the plate. Cook on high heat for only a few seconds.

So you got your gnocchi, pork chops and apple! DUDE, this was amaaaazing. I want Fall and Winter back so this meal would feel more appropriate.

• 1 small sweet potato – $.60
• 1 egg – $.14
• 2 Servings pasta – $.74
• 1 Serving pasta – $.37
• 1/6 apple – ~$.05
• 2 thin pork chops – $.73
• 1 Serving – $1.15