Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Spiced Aubergine Ragout

Introduction

Making gnocchi from scratch can be a bit of a faff, but this recipe keeps things simple. It serves two, as I rarely make gnocchi for a crowd, but you can easily scale it up.

In Brazil, batata doce – sweet potato – is the variety with the pink skin and yellow interior – in the UK it’s sometimes known as ‘Japanese sweet potato’ or ‘red sweet potato’. This is the variety I grew up with and love; it’s less sweet than the orange variety.

To bind the gnocchi and to keep them gluten-free, I’ve used masa harina, which is a type of nixtamalized corn flour used in Mexican cooking. It’s not traditionally used in Brazilian cuisine, but it works really well here and keeps the gnocchi gluten-free.

Ingredients

For the gnocchi

• 500g sweet potatoes (with pink skin and yellow interior)
• 1 egg yolk
• 50g masa harina
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• Plenty of freshly cracked pepper
• Plenty of freshly grated nutmeg

For the ragout

• 2 medium aubergines (500g)
• 10g fresh basil leaves, plus extra to serve
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 15g salted butter
• 1½ tbsp tomato purée/paste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ¾ tsp medium curry powder
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp chilli flakes
• Plenty of freshly cracked pepper
• Plenty of freshly grated nutmeg

To serve

• grated Parmesan (or vegetarian equivalent)
• zest of 1 lemon

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C.
• Leaving the skin on, cut the sweet potatoes into 170g pieces.
• Halve the aubergines lengthways. Lightly brush the cut sides with oil and place them cut side down on the tray with the potatoes.
• Bake until the aubergines are soft and well browned on the bottom and the sweet potatoes are soft all the way through. This should take about 45–50 minutes.
• Slice the potatoes open and let them cool. While they’re cooling, make the ragout. Scoop the aubergine flesh into a large frying pan off the heat (discard the skins). Add all the remaining ragout ingredients. Place on a medium heat and cook for 4 minutes, stirring throughout. Set aside off the heat.
• Scoop the sweet potato flesh into a bowl (discard the skin) and mash well to get rid of any lumps. You should have about 300g of mash. Add the egg yolk, masa harina, salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix very well.
• Prepare a tray lined with parchment. Lightly grease the parchment with olive oil. Use 2 tablespoons to form pointed ovals of the gnocchi dough, placing them on the tray as you go.
• Bring a pot of well-salted water to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat so the water is gently simmering. Add the gnocchi and cook until they all float to the top, about 4 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi to the ragout pan, along with about 100g of the cooking water. Place the pan on a medium heat and cook for a few minutes, gently stirring to combine the gnocchi with the sauce.
• Finish with grated Parmesan, lemon zest, pepper, nutmeg, a drizzle of oil and more flaked salt if you like.

Note: Japanese or red sweet potatoes can be found in most greengrocers and Caribbean markets. Use regular orange sweet potatoes if you can’t get hold of them.