Flying Colours

Seeing a big rainbow on my plate always makes me happy. Maybe I'm like a bee collecting pollen, but I will always steer clear of the boring white and brown dishes and head towards the bright plates that call for attention. Luckily that's not a bad thing because colourful food looks beautiful and is super healthy for us too. 

When I told my sweetie I was making a beautiful purple sweet potato gnocchi for dinner, he asked that I serve us half purple gnocchi and take a little of the orange sweet potato gnocchi I had made and frozen out of the freezer so we could mix them up. At first I thought that sounded like extra work, then I realized how pretty it would look and got excited. 

I think my dish was a beautiful success and now my freezer has enough purple and orange gnocchi to keep us satisfied for awhile. So now I'm happy because it's all set for a day when I'm not in the mood to cook. 

Purple Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Kale and Mushrooms - serves 4

2 cups mashed purple sweet potato

1 egg

3/4 cup flour

1 pinch each of salt, pepper, and nutmeg

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 onion, sliced 

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of mushrooms, sliced 

1 bunch of kale, ribs removed and cut into ribbons (or use 1/3 package of kale Cookin' Greens to save a little time and still get all the taste and nutrients!)

2 tablespoons butter 

Parmesan cheese, grated for garnish 

1. Start by making your purple sweet potato gnocchi (I get the potatoes from a market in China Town). Combine potato, egg, flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. The mixture should be a little sticky and olli away from the bowl. 

2. Flour your counter and divide the potato mixture in half. Roll each of the halves into 3/4 inch wide logs and cut into 3/4 inch long pieces of gnocchi. Repeat until all of the potato mixture is cut into gnocchi. 

3. Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil your gnocchi. Boil them in batches of about 10-15 for about 3 minutes each or until they begin to float. 

4. While the water is boiling, get your veggies ready. Sauté onions and garlic in the oil until soft. Then add kale and cook until wilted. Add butter to melt and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

5. When gnocchi is ready, add it to the pan with the veggies and toss to combine. 

6. Serve with grated cheese and enjoy! 

To make my extra colourful dish, freeze half of this gnocchi recipe, use a quarter of my Sweet Potato Gnocchi recipe, and combine. I really think it's worth the extra effort!