Pumpkin Gnocchi
Pumpkin gnocchi are soft, pillow-like dumplings made from a dough that includes pumpkin puree mixed with flour, and sometimes egg and cheese, instead of the more traditional potato. This seasonal variation is often served with rich sauces like brown butter and sage, or creamy sauces.
Pumpkin gnocchi recipes work best with the sweeter types of pumpkin/squash such as butternut squash, Calabaza squash, Kabocha squash, Italian zucca Mantovana, zucca Marina di Chioggia and Delica pumpkins.
Two things I keep reading about for making excellent gnocchi are:
1. Don't overwork the dough. Mix it gently and only enough to bring the ingredients together.
2. Add only as much flour as needed to create a dough that is not overlly sticky. Too much flour can make gnocchi heavy and gummy in texture.
Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter
from https://www.the-pasta-project.com/
Italian homemade pumpkin gnocchi are a delicious way to make use of leftover pumpkin! They're easier to make than you think and can be frozen for later use!
The lesson [she learned] is gnocchi dough has to be kneaded by hand, as little and as fast as possible.
There are different ways of making pumpkin gnocchi. They can be made, as I did with potatoes, flour and roasted pumpkin puree. They can be made without the potatoes, just pumpkin and flour or with ricotta instead of potatoes and some people also make them using breadcrumbs. I have started with the most common.
350 g Russet potatoes (12oz) you can also use Desiree, Marfona or King Edward potatoes) Important that the potato is floury!
350 g Pumpkin (12oz) I used a Delica pumpkin but other types can be used too
250 g '00' flour (9oz)
1 pinch salt
1 egg lightly beaten
1 teaspoon nutmeg grated
For the sage butter
100 g butter (3.5oz)
1 handful fresh sage leaves
50 g Parmesan or grana grated (2oz)
Cut the pumpkin in half, remove all the seeds and peel it. Then cut the pumpkin into chunks and roast on baking paper in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes until fork soft.
Remove the pumpkin from the baking tray and mash it a bit with a fork. If you have one, pass the pulp through a potato ricer (in Italian passavedura) or continue to mash until it’s as smooth as possible.
In a large pot with just enough water to cover them, boil potatoes cut in half with their skins on. Boil for about 20-30 minutes or until fork tender. Over-boiling will cause potatoes to become mushy and too wet.
Strain and peel the boiled potatoes, removing any brown spots that might be below the skin. Peel them quickly, as the cooler they get, the less fluffy they become. Press the potatoes through a potato ricer into a bowl. (you can also press them flesh down through the potato ricer without peeling The skin will stay in the ricer) If you don’t have a ricer you can mash the potatoes until smooth.
Allow the potatoes to cool a little if they are still hot and then put them in a bowl with the pumpkin puree, flour, a pinch of salt, the nutmeg and the lightly beaten egg. (If the potatoes are too hot, the egg will start to cook)
Mix everything together using a wooden spoon and then your hands. Once the mixture starts to resemble a dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured wooden board.
Knead the dough with your hands, adding a little more flour if you need to. Work carefully and quickly, as the more you handle the dough, the harder it will become. You need the same lightness you would use for pastry. Continue until the dough loses most of its stickiness and becomes a more solid mound.
Cut a quarter of the dough off and cover the rest with a tea towel to prevent it drying out too quickly. Re-flour your work surface. I used semolina flour (semola in Italian).
Divide the quarter into two and roll each piece out into a rope or snake about as thick as your thumb and cut it into pieces about 2-3 cm wide.
Gently roll each gnocco against the floured front tines of a fork or down an gnocchi board to make ridges. Then arrange in a single layer on a prepared floured baking tray ( I used semolina flour for this). Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Allow the gnocchi to rest for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Potato and pumpkin gnocchi need to be cooked almost immediately, although you can keep them covered in the fridge or at room temperature for a couple of hours. However you have to keep them separated or they will stick together!
Cook the gnocchi with sage butter.
Put a pan of water on to boil for the gnocchi. When it starts to boil add salt and bring to the boil again.
Melt the butter in a frying pan or skillet. Add the sage leaves and allow them to get a little crispy.
Cook the gnocchi in the boiling salted water. They don’t take very long to cook but the time will depend on how light they are. As soon as the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer to the butter and sage.
Mix the gnocchi and sauce together and serve immediately with grated Parmesan or grana.
Servings 4
Sweet Potato Italian Gnocchi (or Pumpkin/Squash)
from https://www.ilariasperfectrecipes.com/
My favourite Gnocchi are made with “Zucca” (pron. zouh-kkuh) and that is the word we use to call every kind of pumpkin or squashes. So when you find an Italian recipe with pumpkin as an ingredient you need to remember that we may call it pumpkin but we use only those sweet or super sweet varieties that you mostly call squash (like Kabocha squash or the Italian wrinkled Butternut squash that is sweeter than the smooth one).
500 gr / 1 lb sweet potato or pumpkin/squash, cooked, well-drained and mashed (about 4 potatoes or 800 gr / 1.8 lbs raw squash/potato)
100 gr / 1 1/3 cup / 3.5 oz Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese finely grated
200 gr / 1 1/2 cup / 7.0 oz all-purpose flour (preferably pastry flour)
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt
Rinse, peel and cut the vegetables into little pieces and steam them in a microwave for about 15-20 minutes. For me this is the best cooking method because most of the water will evaporate in the cooking process and this will prevent to use too much flour in the dough thus avoiding rubbery Gnocchi. If you don’t have a microwave, bake them unpeeled until fork tender.
The puree doesn’t have to be wet so, if needed, you can simmer it over medium heat until the “juices” boil off, but if you follow the microwave method you won’t have any problems.
Put steamed/cooked vegetables in a big bowl and mash them with a fork of potato masher.
Mix in Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and 3/4 flour (150 gr). Do not over mix.
Knead gently until a nice pliable ball is formed, do not over knead. Add the remainder flour only if necessary and the dough is still sticky.
It has to be soft and just a bit tacky. If it’s still a bit damp add some more flour, not too much though! Adding more flour it certainly improves the workability of the dough, but it makes the Gnocchi too firm or can I say rubber ball? Nah, you don’t want that, do you?
Immediately dust with flour your working area, take a piece of the dough at a time and gently roll each out to form 3/4 inch – 2 cm in diameter ropes.
Cut the ropes into about 1 inch / 2,5 cm pieces (it depends on what size you want your Gnocchi), and if you want you can lightly press and roll each pieces into the tines of a fork or a gnocchi board with the tip of your thumb to make a small indentation, but for Squash or Sweet Potato Gnocchi I like to skip this passage and leave gnocchi as is.
Put Gnocchi, divided from each other, over a well floured plate to avoid from sticking together.
If you want you can freeze them with the plate and once frozen you can put them into a freezer bag to leave more space in the freezer.
To cook Sweet Potato or Pumpkin/Squash Gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a full boil and add a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to avoid them from sticking while cooking.
Drop Gnocchi (both fresh or frozen), a few at a time, into the boiling water, make a little stir.
When they rise to the surface, immediately remove and drain them with a slotted spoon and put onto the serving dish.
Put your favourite sauce over them, give a little stir and serve immediately. Butter & Sage: (put butter in a pan, add sage, let simmer a bit and add cooked Gnocchi)
If you don’t serve them immediately, remember to sprinkle Gnocchi with a little bit of olive oil and give a little stir. When you want to serve Gnocchi just put your favourite sauce in a pan, heat up and put them in to combine for less than 30 seconds.
These are best served with melted butter and sage sauce (put butter in a pan, add sage, let simmer a bit and add cooked Gnocchi). I love to sprinkle some poppy seeds over for a little crunchy taste and for a lovely presentation. What a perfect balance of texture and flavour!
Yield: 4 servings
