Pumkin Gnocchi

1. Roast the squash by halving length wise, coating it with oil, salt, and pepper. Place cut side down on a sheet tray and cook at 400 degrees until tender. Aprox. 25 min. Scoop out the flesh and set aside.

This is a sunshine kabocha. 

2. Rinse the potatoes, and drop them into boiling salty water.Cook them until a pairing knife is easily inserted (around 25 min.). Allow to cool enough to handle. 

*This step is key, DON’T overcook your potatoes, if they bust open and absorb too much water it will kill your gnocchi.

3. Using a paring knife, peel the skin from your potatoes, and squish them through the ricer into a large bowl. Next pass the squash.

4. Add the eggs, nutmeg, a hefty pinch of salt and the flour. (I also added a splash of amaretto liquor) Mix lightly with your hands until it comes together, Add more flour if needed. This is really where the margin for error comes into this recipe. The dough should be dry enough to roll out (see pic), but you cannot overwork it, or it will become dense and chewy. It is good to have a small pot of boiling water on so you can taste a sample. It shouldn't fall apart, and hopefully it's not too dense.

5. Now the fun part, in bunches, work the dough into long rolls (about the diameter of a dime) and cut into little dumplings. Being sure to keep everything well floured, or they will stick together. 

Now I dropped my pumpkin gnocchi into boiling water. Fortunately gnocchi come with a built in timer. When you drop them in they all sink to the bottom, give them a very gentle stir, and as they cook they will rise to the top. Once they're all sitting on the top, they're ready to go. It happens pretty quickly relative to pasta, so don't drop them until your sauce is ready! 

I added the gnocchi to the browned butter along with a good splash of chicken stock and two more tablespoons of butter and some grated Parm to bring it together.

To finish, I topped it off with a little more Parm and the fried sage. 

Freakin' delicious.