Strip the sage leaves off their stems. Give the leaves a good rinse under running water to clean them. Choose the 15 largest leaves for frying and set the other leaves aside.
Pat the large leaves dry. My preferred method is to place them on a kitchen towel, cover them with a second kitchen towel and gently press to squeeze out the excess water. The leaves should be dry when frying in hot oil otherwise there is going to be a lot of sizzling.
Heat 5 tablespoons of standard olive oil in a large pan. Place the dried large sage leaves in the pan next to each other (they shouldn’t overlap), and fry them for 1-2 minutes on each side until they start to get crispy. You should pay close attention as the leaves tend to burn quickly once they are done, turning brown and losing their earthy sage aroma, tasting burnt. You know the leaves are done when they start turning crispy and are still green. Remove the leaves from the pan, place them on a paper towel and sprinkle with a little salt.
Cook or fry the gnocchi according to the package instructions.
Chop the fresh sage leaves finely and mix them with the gnocchi. Mix in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper to your taste.