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1
Heat your oven to 400F. Wash your sweet potatoes and score them with an x. Place them on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven until very soft, close to an hour. Allow to cool, remove the peels, and press the potatoes through a potato ricer. Take out one cup of the mashed sweet potato - if there is any extra you can use it for something else.
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2
In a mixing bowl, stir together the sweet potato mash, ricotta, salt, and egg until combined. Then, stir in the flour 1/4 cup at a time, just until you have a workable dough. It will be sticky and a little tricky, but you want to use as little flour as possible so that your gnocchi don't wind up dense and chewy.
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3
Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and keep your hands floured as well. Divide it into four pieces and roll each piece into a log that is about an inch thick.
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4
Using a sharp knife, cut the logs into 1 inch pieces. Then, use the back of a fork to press lovely little tine marks into your gnocchi (this is optional, but it looks nice). If it's going to be a bit until you cook your gnocchi, refrigerate them until you're ready. At this stage they can also be spread on a baking sheet and frozen, then stored in the freezer. Don't defrost frozen gnocchi, just toss them right into your boiling water.
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5
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Gently add in about half of your gnocchi. Boil until they come rising up to the surface, and as soon as they rise up, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl. Once the first half of the gnocchi is done, cook the second half in the same manner.
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6
Make your maple-butter sauce (see below). Once the sauce is cooked, stir the gnocchi into the frying pan with the sauce, stirring them to get them all well coated. Cook them on medium for a minute or two on each side, until they look a little golden.
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7
Divide the gnocchi between four bowls and sprinkle each bowl with the toasted pecans. Me being me, I discovered that the gnocchi were also absolutely phenomenal with a little dollop of whipped cream on top (or creme fraiche), if you're feeling decadent.
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8
In a rather large frying pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it is foaming. Stir in the orange zest, and cook, stirring frequently until the butter has browned and smells wonderful and nutty. Add in the rest of the ingredients, stir well to combine, then cook for a minute or two until the sauce thickens slightly.
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9
Turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and stir in the gnocchi and finish (see above).
