Sweet Potato Gnocci

Fresh pasta is lovely and I have wanted to make my own for a while. When I came across a gnocci recipe in one of the recent Tesco magazines I thought that will be close enough for a first try.

It was a few nights ago that I decided to make it all and then I wasn't in the mood for it for dinner. Thankfully gnocci freezes well.
The first step was to bake the gnocci in the oven for one and a half hours over a layer of salt. The reason for the salt is to draw the moisture out of the potatoes.

It is apparently important to have dry potato to make the gnocci. All the potato needs to then be pushed through a sieve to make them nice and smooth. Add to this some flour and eggs and any seasoning you want.


Then mix it together. I found doing this by hand was easier as it eliminates the risk of over working the dough and you can feel if you need extra flour.

Once you have a ball of dough divide into four parts and then make those into sausages.


Cut into pieces and mark each piece with a fork. The fork marks will create an area that any sauce can cling to.

Tonight I decided to have some for diner and they are very easy to cook. Simply put in boiling water and when they float they are done.


My sauce was my goto quick mix with a bit extra to use up what was in the fridge. My quick sauce is just a can of tomatos simmered down with any herbs I fancy. This for me is a great base and you can add what ever you want to it.
This time around I added some pancetta and mushrooms.


When the sauce was simmered down to my desired texture I added it to my drained gnocci and served.

 

I very much enjoyed it.

Sweet Potato Gnocci

Sukrin Cake Mix

When you are trying to be healthy it can be difficult to get rid of your sweet tooth. I like many have a major sweet tooth and I don't see the weekend as the time to behave.

I did try however to behave and instead of going out to buy a sweet or an early Easter treat I made a cake.

It may have been a cake mix (which I do class as cheating) but cake mixes can be handy when in a pinch and I generally get given cake mixes so need to use them up.

I got the Sukrin Cake Mix in one of my Degusta Boxes (think monthly beauty box but with food) and it is described as a free from cake.

This mix is free from sugar, gluten, wheat and egg.

This sounds impressive and may be great for many people with food intolerances.
However when making the mix it says to add water, oil and egg so I think it is a slight misrepresentation of the product. Although you can use an egg replacement and it will be fine.

The recipe calls for three eggs but I only had two. So I decided to test the replacement ease and added in 1 tbsp of nut-butter in place of one egg.

Mix everything together and very quickly and easily you have a cake just wait 30mins for it to bake.

The texture was nice and moist yet no soggy bottom. It was a bit of a dense cake but it tasted fine. Though it was over powdered by the peanut taste from my three nut butter. The baking seemed to intensify the flavour of the nuts.

 The mix is very simple and the box recommends easy ways to add other flavours. This could be very handy when you want something sweet and just use up what is in your kitchen for that something extra.

I would buy a couple more of these to a) see what it tastes like without an ingredient change and b) to see how easy it is to flavour with other ingredients.

The healthier option is a plus if your watching your weight too but low in gluten is not something I really worry about. If you are sensitive to gluten this would be a possible option for you though I would check the box first for full ingredients just in case.