Irresponsibly, American leaves coaching to small dumplings (7)

I believe the answer is:

gnocchi

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'dumplings' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for gnocchi that I've seen before include "2 [PASTA]" , "Italian potato dumplings" , "Italian dumpling made of potato, flour or semolina" , "Dumpling dish" , "Little dumplings" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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