Purple Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Garlic Sauce (V) (GF)

As I dig deeper into foods to heal and having read “Eat to Beat Disease” I feel so compelled to share everything that I learn in a translatable way that I can share delicious creations with you.

While this recipe was in the book - I did alter to make gluten free and added a dairy free cream sauce - I found it to be so amazingly good! I had to share!

I’m not going to say making gnocchi was a breeze because its quite messy, but as long as you are patient its really fun! I even had my almost 2-year-old daughter helping! By the end we were both covered in flour and dough but it was worth it!

The reason behind me making this was to really share with you guys how powerful these healing foods are and I want to extend a few notes on purple potatoes and why they are different then their siblings white and red.

Purple potatoes originate from Peru. In fact, they were prized by ancient Inca for their nutrition benefits. They contain a bio active that makes their purple blue pigment.

Scientists at Penn State University explored the effect of purple potatoes on cancer stem cells on mice. They fed mice that are at high risk for developing colon cancer the equivalent of one purple potato through dietary supplement. They compared this to a anti-inflammatory drug known to suppress the polyps and colon cancer development.

After 1 week, the mice fed purple potatoes had 50% fewer tumors. When the colon tissues were examined under a microscope, there was a 40% increase in the killing of colon cancer stem cells compared to the group that didn’t eat purple potatoes. This was the key survival factor.

We all have an opportunity to feed or kill cancer cells that are already present in the body. its just a matter of allowing them to grow into something that is cancerous and dangerous to our health. Knowing that we have foods that keep these tumors at bay from growing and from becoming harmful is so important for everyone to hear. Especially now since I’ve had 2 of my family members with cancer and 2 with leukemia.

You fight for everything you can find when someone you love has a deadly disease.

I fight for my health daily always searching for news ways to fend off these threats from our environment, food, water and air. I hope to share all of them with you!

Now, to get back to the recipe. There are a few steps that are included here as its a bit of a process but worth it!

One thing to note here too is I used the Instant Pot, which isn’t required to boil the potatoes but I will reference it here. If you have one, great! If not, just go the traditional route of boiling and you’re set!

Ingredients:

2 Lbs Purple Potatoes
2 1.2 cups flour - I used 1 cup almond flour & 1 cup all purpose Gluten Free Flour in mix + about 1/2 cup when dusting.
1 egg
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp onion salt or garlic powder
2-3 leaves fresh basil chopped or 1 tsp dried
1 1/2 cups raw unsalted cashews - soaked 1-2 hours
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup almond milk or water (or half & half)

Directions for Cashew Cream:

Soak Cashews for about 1 hour. Rinse and let drain in colander.
Blend cashews, chopped garlic, pepper, sea salt and milk/water
Blend until smooth - add basil and set aside

Directions for Gnocchi:

Wash potatoes.
In a large pot, or in my case I used my Instant Pot, cover the potatoes with water. Boil them with skins on until easily pierced with fork about 30-40 minutes. This process took 20 in the Instant Pot.
Remove potatoes and drain well. Allow to semi-cool on paper towels.
You can either remove the skins or keep them on. I kept them on.
For best results and light and fluffy gnocchi, use a food processor. Otherwise a blender is fine.
Add the potatoes, 2 cups of flour, egg and salt to mixture. Blend well until smooth.
Add in the basil. Mix well.
Once the dough is smooth enough remove from the bowl and place on dusted parchment paper or dusted surface for rolling out the dough. You may want to keep adding flour to the dough until it is able to flatten out without sticking too much. Keep adding desired flour until texture is ready to smooth out.
Knead the dough gently, adding flour as you go, a little at a time.. Don’t overwork it and add too much extra flour.
Shape dough into 4 rectangular loafs approx 2” in width. Cut each loaf into 8-10 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope to create 1” pieces and set aside.
Start a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt. Drop the small pieces of gnocchi into the water. Start with 4-5 and watch to see their size as they do grow!
The gnocchi is ready to remove once it floats to the top of the water - which takes approx 2-4 minutes.
Remove each piece and set aside in colander to remove excess water.
Place gnocchi on to flat surface and cut into final desired pieces.
Add pesto or cashew cream sauce as a topping.
Keep in air tight container in refrigerator with a dash of olive oil to avoid from over drying. Keeps for 3-4 days.

I hope you enjoy! Thanks for following along!

If you want to see more daily posts on food and fitness follow along on Instagram @AngieReneeFitLife

Angie