Sweet Potato And Thyme Gnocchi

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• Step 1

  Start by baking the potatoes- if you're starting from scratch without leftover mash, this is the best way to prepare the potatoes for gnocchi. If you're working with already-mashed potatoes, skip ahead to the next stage.

  Preheat the oven to 200ºC and prick all the potatoes (sweet and regular) with a sharp knife. Once the oven is hot, bake for an hour, or until a skewer or knife can easily pass through one of the potatoes.

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  Step 2

  Once your potatoes are cooked, scoop out the flesh into a large mixing bowl and use a potato ricer or masher to squash the potatoes into a fine mash- really work at getting all the lumps out as this will improve the texture of the gnocchi. Mix in a good glug of olive oil, salt and pepper, and set aside while you prepare your gnocchi-making station (the skins of the baked potatoes are also great for snacking on with some salt sprinkled on them!).

• Step 3

  The trick with gnocchi is not to worry too much about all your pasta shapes looking identical- these are going to be far tastier than any shop-bought ones! Simply clear your decks and start your mini gnocchi factory. In the mixing bowl with the potato flesh, stir in a few tablespoons of flour, just to get the mixture a bit more malleable as you mix it together with your hands- it will stay as a sticky dough, but you should be able to roll it out and not have it stick to every surface.

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  Step 4

  Dust one large baking tray or roasting tin with a light coating of polenta- this is where you'll place your finished gnocchi pieces- the polenta stops the pasta from sticking, and then falls off when they are fried or boiled, so don't affect the flavour.

• Step 5

  Chop your gnocchi dough into four pieces so it's easier to work with. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each gnocchi dough ball at a time into a long rope. Using your thumb as a guide, chop the gnocchi into roughly 2cm rectangles, and then run a fork across one side of each piece, so the gnocchi gently curls into itself. You can search online for other gnocchi shapes as there are quite a few- and you can even leave them plain without the grooves. Then place the gnocchi in the polenta trays, and move on to your next piece of gnocchi dough.

• Step 6

  You can either fry or boil the gnocchi pieces- I found frying these sweet potato ones worked best as it makes them super tasty, but it's up to you!

  If boiling, heat a panful of salted water to boiling point and place a few gnocchi at a time in the pan, waiting for them to bob to the surface before removing with a slotted spoon and adding the lemon and thyme.

  If frying, heat a little olive oil in a pan with the thyme and lemon juice, and fry the gnocchi in small batches for about 3 minutes each, turning them over as you go, so they begin to go a dark golden brown on each side.

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  Step 7

  Serve with another squeeze of lemon and some salad leaves for a very cheap way of using up your leftover mash with some cupboard essentials.

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