Purple Sweet Potato Vegan Gnocchi with Leek, Mushroom and Coconut Cream Sauce
Simple sweet potato gnocchi, made with whole wheat flour, are right at home in this creamy sauce flavored with garlic, coconut, mushrooms and leeks. This purple sweet potato vegan gnocchi uses just four ingredients, and are sweet, fresh, and delicious. The sauce is rich and creamy, with a touch of spice to offset the sweetness of the potatoes. The delicate lavender color is soothing and beautiful, adding a little magic to your table.
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Purple sweet potatoes are just one of the many vegetables that have made their way into my kitchen thanks to my local Asian grocery store. One of my favorite ways to spark creativity in my food is by spotting a vegetable I’ve never used (and sometimes one I’ve never even heard of), buy it, and figure out what to do with it. This method of grocery shopping lead me to buying crown daisy, a tuber called “name”, and even golden berries! Although purple sweet potatoes weren’t that foreign of an ingredient to me- they are, after all, essentially just sweet potatoes- they were a fun find. When given the choice between regular sweet potatoes and purple ones, I do tend to gravitate towards purple. Same goes for Brussel sprouts and radishes! So purple sweet potatoes it was, for my purple sweet potato vegan gnocchi.
The color purple is a favorite of mine. It has the calm, cool nature of blue, with hints of passionate, fiery red- it’s the meeting place of the warm and cool color spectrums. It was my sisters favorite color for years, so because of that it was off limits to me. But as we age, and favorite colors are no longer something one of us can claim “dibs” on, I’ve grown to be really appreciative of purple. From fragrant lavender, to sweet clover, shiny eggplants, the early spring buds of lilac, the dark edges of the sunset, pulling in the night, purple is a moody, calming color, that talks to me about transitions. If purple is important to you in your pasta (which it is to me) make sure you get sweet potatoes that are purple on the inside- some just have purple skins.
Making gnocchi isn’t tough to do, but it does take a little patience. When making your dough, you want to try and use relatively little flour so the dough is light and tastes more like the sweet potato than the flour. I used a food processor to “mash” the potatoes and mix my dough for these purple sweet potato vegan gnocchi, but you could use a traditional potato masher and some elbow grease instead. The next step is to roll the dough into long snakes, and then cut into segments. This is where I usually stop with my gnocchi, but since I was photographing them I decided to be extra fancy and use a fork to give them the characteristic gnocchi grooves. This is totally unnecessary, but it does look neat. Finally, once the purple sweet potato vegan gnocchi are formed, place them on a floured plate so they don’t stick together. Then make your sauce, before cooking the gnocchi- you’ll want it ready so you can just slip the cooked pasta directly in.
Try These Other Pasta Recipes!
- Savory Chocolate Pasta with Hazelnut Chili Cream Sauce
- Crown Daisy Pasta in Spicy Almond Sauce
- Mayo-Free Radish Mint Pasta Salad
- Fried Hoisin Tofu with Peanut Sauce-Touched Udon
Purple Sweet Potato Vegan Gnocchi with Leek, Mushroom and Coconut Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized purple sweet potatoes (about 1.5 lb.)
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 TBSP. olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 6 oz. cremini mushrooms
- 1 large leek
- Olive oil, for sautéing
- 1 13.5 oz. can of full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- ¼-½ tsp. chili powder
- 1 TBSP. corn starch
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare your potatoes by cleaning, peeling, (optional, for a smoother finish) and setting them to boil in a medium sized saucepan until they are cooked and easily pricked with a fork. Drain, and place in your food processor. Pulse until it is fairly smooth, then add the salt, oil, and flour (half cup at a time), processing until it forms a soft dough (if it is very sticky, add a little more flour).
- On a well-floured surface take a handful of the dough and roll into a long snake. Use a dough scraper or a knife to cut small pieces, about the size of a quarter. For the classic gnocchi look, gently roll each piece over the tines of a fork (completely optional). Place the finished pasta on a floured plate, and repeat until all the dough is used.
- Start the sauce by mincing the garlic, slicing the mushrooms, and cutting the white part of the leek into thin half-moons. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet, and add the garlic and mushrooms, sautéing for a minute before adding the leeks. Let the vegetables cook for a couple minutes, until fragrant before adding the coconut milk. Bring up to a simmer and whisk in the cornstarch and chili powder, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer and thicken, stirring occasionally, while you cook your gnocchi.
- Boil water in a saucepan, and add gnocchi one by one- don’t overcrowd the water, and cook the pasta in a few batches if necessary. After 3-4 minutes the gnocchi will have cooked and will rise to the top. Use a slotted spoon to scoop up the cooked gnocchi, and add them directly to the skillet with sauce. Toss gently and serve.
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Let’s hear from you…
- Purple or orange- do you care what color your potatoes are?
- Are you a fan of homemade pasta, or do you find it’s not worth the effort?
- Have you ever bought a vegetable without knowing what it was? Did you end up loving it?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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A little late to the party, but just wanted to say I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s a keeper! I used regular violet potatoes the first time and orange sweet potatoes the second time. Homemade pasta is definitely worth the effort, especially gnocchi and seasonal ravioli. Thanks again for the recipe!
Thanks so much for your kind words! I love your experimentation with different potatoes on this recipe. We totally agree that homemade pasta is worth the extra effort, and you’ve definitely got me thinking that I need to start making more ravioli!