Potato Gnocchi

I thought this was going to be really good, but it wasn't. I had already made sweet potato gnocchi and kabocha gnocchi, and both of those were excellent. This tasted like mashed potato balls, period. Also George made a sauce for it which was just awful, although he liked it. Mark Bittman says potato gnocchi should be ethereal, light, and fluffy, but both George and I like it dense and chewy. Following Bittman's instructions, I barely added any flour, and my gnocchi was way too ethereal. This was part of the problem. The other problem is that potatoes don't really taste much like anything, and even less so when twice cooked. And sardine sauce is not the answer! So instead I am going to reiterate the best way to cook and dress sweet potato or squash gnocchi which are prettier than potatoes anyway.

Ingredients:
Some sweet potatoes or squash, peeled, cubed, steamed, and mashed with a fork*
all-purpose flour
freshly grated Paramgiano-Regianno
sliced scallions

*if you do the mashing and kneading in a large glass bowl instead of the counter, it will be a lot easier in the long run I've found

Directions:
1. Bring a really big pot of salted water to boil
2. Meanwhile, mix sweet potatoes with flour. Probably a few cups, until it all holds together and doesn't stick to your hands so much.
3. Knead dough a minute or two.
4. Pinch off a small piece, roll into a ball, and throw into the rolling water. If the dough holds together, you're copacetic.
5. Tear off large sections of the dough and roll like Play-Doh into long thin sausages. Pinch off small pieces of this and roll into balls. Drop into water. As soon as the balls rise to the surface of the water, they are done.
6. Top with cheese and a few scallions and serve while steaming hot.