Pumpkin Gnocchi

Autumn is a favourite season in our household. Between the hearty harvest holidays and some very important birthdays (Nonnina's!), we have plenty of delicious recipes we cook up to celebrate these special days. This week, I visited Nonnina's house just in time to make a fall twist on everyone's favourite dish - gnocchi! Almost every recipe Nonnina makes is made up of fresh ingredients she either grows or purchases but rarely is it canned.  For these delicious pumpkin gnocchi Nonnina bought her own pumpkin and cut, cleaned, roasted and pureed it. She then started adding ingredients until she came up with something that tasted heavenly.  As most recipes were created from "Nonnina's head" bare with us with the ingredient quantities.  You may need to add more flour depending on the texture of your dough. We can't wait for you to try these delicious pumpkin gnocchi that are sure to be the piece de resistance at your next Thanksgiving dinner and if frozen they can definitely be enjoyed well into the winter months. After all, is there a more tasty way to recycle your Halloween Jack-O-Lantern?

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of flour
  • 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups of *fresh pumpkin purée
  • 2 eggs

*Nonnina used fresh pumpkin which she roasted and pureed, however the canned puree can also be used.

Directions:

  1. In a food processor, mix together flour, pumpkin purée, eggs and Parmesan cheese. Pulse until all ingredients come together.
  2. Dust a cutting board with flour and remove contents of the food process on to the board forming dough
  3. Knead the dough together for about 5 minutes, using extra flour as needed. *dough should be the consistency of pizza dough
  4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and dust it with flour. This is where you'll place the gnocchi once cut
  5. Cut a small piece of dough at a time and roll it out until it's about 15 inches long and half an inch thick ( depending on how big you'd like your gnocchi)
  6. Cut the dough into half inch pieces and make sure they are coated in a dusting of flour or they will stick together
  7. Using a gnocchi board or fork or even just the cutting board itself (depending on the texture you want to achieve) roll the dough pieces up towards you pressing lightly so that they curl upwards and get a ridged pattern (like ruffles chips!)
  8. Spread the gnocchi out on the cookie sheet. It is important not to pile them because they will stick together.  Nonnina's Tip* At this point you can either cook them or freeze them for a future date.
  9. Drop the gnocchi into a pot of salted boiling water, cooking them for about 7-8 minutes or until they float to the top.

You can pair these gnocchi with whichever sauce you prefer. Because they are pumpkin, Nonnina prefers to enjoy this dish with a brown butter sage sauce however, it can also be done with a classic tomatoe sauce for an equally delicious taste!

Buon Appetito!

With Love From, Nonnina