Gnocchi always have their charm. They just require a little preparation time.
The recipe that includes pumpkin has a Mantua origin; the chef Bartolomeo Stefani used to prepare it in the 17th century for the Gonzaga dukes. This recipe, however, is the modern one that I use.
Butternut squash Gnocchi
- Preparation time: 120 minutes
- Ingredients for 6 servings
- Difficulty: Easy recipe
- Ingredients
- For the gnocchi:
- 1 kg butternut squash
- 1 egg
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g grated parmesan
- Nutmeg to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For the seasoning:
- Butter to taste
- 1 bunch of sage
- Grated parmesan to taste
- Instructions
- Turn the oven on at 350°F (180°C).
- Clean the pumpkin well, cut it into strips, and place these strips on a baking sheet pan covered with baking paper. Cook in the oven for forty minutes, turning the slices halfway to remove all the water from the pumpkin.
- Pass the pumpkin through a food mill. Place it in a fine, mesh sieve to cool and lose any remaining liquids.
- When the mixture is at room temperature and dry, add the sifted flour, parmesan, and egg. Season with salt and pepper, and grate on plenty of nutmeg. Work the ingredients until you obtain a homogeneous mixture, but do so as quickly as possible.
- Dust the pastry board with flour. Cut a piece of the dough, and use your hands to make a long roll of dough as thick as a finger. Slice the roll every cm, leaving you with small cylinders. Leave the gnocchi to rest for at least an hour.
- In a small pan, melt the butter together with the sage until it reaches a slightly nutty color.
- Cook the gnocchi in a pan with boiling salted water. When they come to the surface, cook them for another minute or so. Take them out with the skimmer slotted spoon and drain them well.
- Season with the butter. Serve with plenty of grated parmesan.
Tips to ensure the success of the dish:
- The thinner you cut the pumpkin, the less time it will take to cook in the oven.
- Never use canned pumpkin.
- If the pumpkin still contains some water after being in the oven, it should be left on the sieve.
