Author: Recipe courtesy of Wes Holder, Executive Sous Chef of Pulehu, an Italian Grill at Westin Kaʻanapali Ocean Resort Villas
Prep Time: 1 hour
Number of Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
- 5 Molokaʻi sweet potatoes
- 1 whole egg
- 2 cups flour (might use less)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup medium-diced wild boar bacon (or pancetta)
- 1 Kula onion
- ¼ cup currants
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- micro basil (or chopped basil)
Directions: Peel and rough-cut potatoes. Boil or steam them 25 to 30 minutes, being careful not to overcook. Let potatoes cool enough to handle, then rice them with a potato ricer on the small die. Whip egg lightly, add salt, and mix together with riced potatoes. Add 1cup flour. Mix lightly just until all flour is incorporated. (Don’t overmix.) Let sit 10 minutes.
Roll dough onto a lightly floured working surface. Knead 1 to 2 minutes, adding flour if dough is too moist. Let dough rest 30 minutes, then divide it into 5 portions and roll each portion into a long cylinder ½ to ¾ inch thick. Dough will be soft. Using a butter knife, carefully slice each cylinder into 1-inch pillows. Dust with flour so they don’t stick.
Fill a 4-quart pot with 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, slice the onion, then cut the slices into half-moons. Cut bacon into medium-diced pieces. Place bacon in a large pan on medium heat with a little oil and render till the bacon is almost crispy. Add sliced onion and cook till onion is translucent. Set aside.
Add a quarter of the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook, removing when these little dough pillows float to the surface. Add the next quarter of the gnocchi, and continue until all batches are cooked. Place cooked gnocchi in the pan with onions and bacon, and sauté 3 minutes, tossing gently on medium-high heat.
PLATING: Place on serving platter and garnish with pine nuts, currants and micro basil.