Serves 4
Pillow soft pumpkin gnocchi; this is the epitome of fall wrapped in a creamy nutty brown butter sauce. This gnocchi recipe was derived trying to use up leftover pumpkin puree..maybe involving one (or two) many glasses of wine. It combines, pumpkin puree, ricotta and parmesan cheese to make soft and fluffy gnocchi. The (lick your plate clean) sauce starts off as a beurre noisette, thickened with cream and topped with bacon and grated parm, need I say more?!
This recipe is IDEAL for hosting friends or family as it is incredibly easy to pull together and will not break the bank. What makes this recipe so easy, other than having dinner dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes, is that there is no potatoes involved. Classically gnocchis have boiled potatoes that have been passed through a ricer to create these dense pastas. However, when I was making these gnocchis I didn’t have any potatoes, and these pillows of goodness don’t seem to need it! Pair this perfect fall pasta with a Chardonnay wine from the Fall Wine Roundup, trust me you won’t be disappointed. (LINK).
Pro Tips
- Gnocchis have the groves or the textured pattern on them to hold the sauce better. This allows for each bite to be covered evenly in delicious sauce.
- This is a super rich dish, and you don’t need a huge amount of gnocchi on the plate to satisfy your guests. Paire the gnocchi with a big leafy green salad.
You’ll Need
- Medium Bowl
- Medium Pot
- Medium Saucepan
- Cheese Grater
- Whisk
Ingredients
Gnocchi
- 1 ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup ricotta
- 4 cups flour plus extra for dusting
- ⅔ cups parm plus extra for garnish
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
Sauce
- Cook 4 slices of bacon (keep 4 tsp of bacon fat, discard the rest)
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ cup of butter
- 2 tbl of chopped sage
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 4 tbl cooking cream (35%)
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin puree, ricotta, flour, parm and eggs. Mix until the dough comes off from the edges of the bowl.
2. On a floured surface, place dough and shape into a ball and section dough into four pieces.
3. Roll out section of dough into a long log about 2 cm thick, then with a knife, cut into pillow like squares. Do this for all four sections.
4. Using the back of the fork tines (teeth) roll the squares along the tines to create a groovy texture on the gnocchi . The groves allow for the gnocchi to hold the sauce better.
5. In a medium pot, heavily salt the water (salty like the sea!!) and bring to a boil. Add the gnocchi in batches and boil for 1:30-2 minutes. The gnocchis will float to the top of the water, this indicates that they are cooked. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and set aside while you make the sauce.
6. Meanwhile, in a medium pan cook bacon. Remove the bacon once crispy and coarsely chop. Keep 4 tsp of bacon fat in the pan and discard the rest.
7. To the bacon fat, add butter to create a brown butter. Heat butter on medium low heat until it’s golden brown and smells nutty (beurre noisette).
8. Turn heat to lowest setting and and add minced garlic, chopped sage and lemon juice. Let the garlic cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add cream and whisk until thick and creamy.
9. Add the gnocchis to the saucepan and coat in the sauce. Transfer to plate and top with grated parmesan cheese and chopped bacon.
