This recipe was a series of, “Hmmmm… I wonder what would happen if I did this…?” Luckily, the cooking gods blessed me and at each experimentation step everything worked out.  I’m always amazed when my random thoughts turn into edible recipes but I guess that’s pretty much how ALL recipes come to be.  Someone thought of throwing a collection of things together and then eating that collection of things.

Man, I make cooking sound like poetry. 

My only difficulty with this recipe was deciding what to call my sweet potato dumplings.  The method I used to make them is very similar to gnocchi but nothing else about them is like gnocchi.  I settled for dumpling because I can’t really call them noodles or pasta and they are sort of cooked like dumplings, but not really.

Are you confused yet?  Join the club. 

I actually prefer this dish cold rather than hot WHICH makes it a tasty summer side dish to bring to a BBQ.  I also like that I can make a huge (and by huge I mean like 70 dumplings. No judging) batch and freeze it so whenever I need a quick meal I’m good to go.  The sauce I made is really simple but you can jazz these dumplings up however you want.  Try it with pesto or if you want something a little spicy substitute buffalo sauce for the avocado cream in the recipe.

The sauce I made is really simple but you can jazz these dumplings up however you want.  Try it with pesto or if you want something a little spicy substitute buffalo sauce for the avocado cream in the recipe.  My Roasted Red Pepper Sauce or Tahini BBQ sauce are also great options.  Basically, these sweet potato dumplings are a great blank canvas for your favorite sauces.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Dumpling Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing 

For the dumplings: 

• 1 cup cooked and mashed white sweet potato **
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch, divided in half
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Place the sweet potato in a large bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.  Add half the tapioca starch and start working it into the sweet potato with a rubber spatula.  It will look like it’s too dry but keep going.  Once it’s fully incorporated, add the rest of the starch.  Keep mixing until you have a firm dough ball and all starch is mixed in.
2. Divide the dough into four equal parts.  Take one portion and roll into a long rope, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.  Use a butter knife to cut the rope into little dumplings, about one inch long.  Do this for the rest of the dough. 
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and lightly salt the water. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Once the water is boiling, add 15 to 20 dumplings and cook until they float to the top.  About 2-5 minutes.  Place in an even layer on the baking sheet, they will be a little sticky at this point but will firm up a bit as they cool.  Continue until all the dumplings are cooked.
4. Let the dumplings cool completely.  At this point, you can freeze them on the baking sheet and store them in a freezer safe container for up to 6 months.  To cook, just add to boiling water and remove once they float to the top.

** You could probably use regular sweet potatoes but I haven’t tested it out myself.  You might need to adjust the amount of starch depending on the moisture level of the sweet potato.

Creamy Avocado Dressing 

• 1/2 cup Smoky Garlic Mayo OR your favorite mayo
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• juice of one lime
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, more if necessary

1. With a blender or immersion blender, combine the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and sea salt plus enough water to get everything moving (about 1/4 cup).  Combine until you have a cilantro “puree”.
2. Add the avocado and combine until completely smooth.
3. Measure out 1/2 cup of the avocado cream and combine with 1/2 cup of mayo and mix well.  Store the rest of the avocado cream in an airtight container in the fridge.
4. Mix the creamy avocado dressing with the cooled sweet potato dumplings and serve immediately or chill until ready to eat.