Potato Gnocchi stuffed with Italian Sausage (Gluten/Dairy/Soy/Corn Free with an Egg Free option)

First I must confess- this is not my photo. I put this recipe together last November and  filed the recipe away in my-”To be posted” folder. I’m just now getting around to sharing it- and I can’t for the life of me track down the accompanying photo. The difference in my pastas appearance is that it has little specs of ground sausage.

To make this Gnocchi- I used a combination of Millet, Rice, Arrowroot and a little Potato Flour.  If you do not have all 4 flours you could just use Millet or Rice in combination with the Arrowroot or Potato Flours.  If you do have all 4 flours- use them as I prefer the results with the mix.

The Eggs can be omitted- throw in 2 TBS of ground flax meal instead. However I must warn you that they will not have as firm of a texture.

Ingredients

• 1 Lb Ground Italian Sausage
• 4 Cups Cooked Potato
• 5 TBS Garlic Powder
• 1 1/2 TBS Salt
• 1 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper
• 2 TBS Basil (dried) (Fresh Basil could also be used)
• 1 TBS Xanthan Gum (Or Guar Gum for Corn free)
• 2 1/2 Cups Millet Flour
• 3/4 Cups Rice Flour
• 2 1/4 Cups Arrowroot
• 1/2 Cup Potato Flour

Directions

1. Bake or Boil Potatoes until they are fork tender. Remove from Skin and Allow to cool.
2. Cook Italian Sausage and set aside. (I recommend using hot Italian sausage- you can buy links and remove from casings)
3. In a Large Bowl Mash the cooled potato as finely as possible (use a potato ricer if you have one) Add the Spices, Salt, Pepper Eggs and Xanthan Gum and cooked sausage.
4. Little by little add all of the flour.
5. On a floured surface roll sections of the dough into a long “rope” and cut the gnocchi into small sections with a sharp knife. You can press each gnocchi with a fork, roll it on a gnocchi board or just leave the pasta as is (which is what I usually do!)
6. At this point the gnocchi can be cooked or frozen. I typically get out 3 cookie trays and flour them and place the cut gnocchi on them- I then freeze. This prevents the gnocchi from sticking together. Once it has frozen it can be placed in a large freezer bag.
7. To cook the Gnocchi- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil – add the gnocchi and cook until it comes to a float. (The gnocchi will finish cooking within a few minutes- and cooks even faster fresh)

These gnocchi are delicious sauteed in a  butter (I use Soy Free Earth Balance) Try Topping with Mozzarella Daiya Cheese or Nutritional Yeast.  They also work well with a basic marinara sauce.

l think you will enjoy the pep in flavor that the added spices and Italian Sausage add this this pasta!

xo,

Brittany