Pumpkin Gnocchi
This little pumpkin patch of gnocchi is the perfect dish to bring in autumn with. Fluffy, pillowy pumpkin shaped gnocchi* that have been crisped up on the bottoms, served with a brown butter parmesan sauce and topped with toasted pine nuts and fried sage. What more could you want from a fall dish?
*Traditionally, gnocchi is usually made from potatoes, flour, and egg (and frequently ricotta) but here I’ve omitted the egg in order to make this dish plant based. For a more traditional gnocchi recipe please refer elsewhere.
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Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
What you’ll need
Pumpkin gnocchi
1 large russet potato
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (preferably 00 flour if you have it)
2 stalks of rosemary
Sauce
4 tbsp vegan butter (Miyoko’s used here as it browns nicely!)
1/2 cup parmesan
Garnishes
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Handful of sage leaves
Prep
In a pot, boil the potato until tender and let cool for several minutes. Remove the skin, and using either a potato ricer, masher, or fork, break apart the potatoes until just barely mashed. To tell if potato is tender, poke with a fork—if it goes through, it is ready.
Measure out 1 cup of flour onto a clean work surface, and make a well in the middle. Add the potato and pumpkin puree in the middle and using your hands, gradually and gently incorporate the wet ingredients with the flour until a soft dough is formed and dough is uniform. Do not overmix as this will lead to a tough gnocchi!
Dust work surface with flour, and roll out dough into a long rope. Portion out pieces to your size of liking (approx 1.5 tbsp each gnocchi here) and gently roll it into a ball. If dough is sticking, sprinkle it with some more flour.
To shape the gnocchis into pumpkin, use either a toothpick or knife to make the indents. Top with a rosemary leaf as the pumpkin stem.
Tip: To have a pumpkin shape that holds better, let shaped gnocchis rest in freezer for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Cook
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and gently drop in the pumpkins. Let cook for a few minutes, strain from water when tender, reserving some pasta water. (Overcooking these will make them tougher). You may fry up the bottoms in butter after boiling them—it adds a delicious crispiness to the dish!
In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook for about 3 minutes until butter is starting to brown and smells toasty. Lower the heat, and add in parmesan and stir in pasta water bit by bit until the sauce is glossy and thick. (For an additional savoriness, sub the pasta water with a bit of vegetable broth).
In butter or oil, fry up the sage leaves until crispy, and toast the pine nuts.
Plate
Spoon some of the brown butter parmesan sauce onto a shallow bowl or a plate.
Arrange pumpkin gnocchis on top of the sauce, and finish with fried sage leaves and toasted pine nuts.
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