Tuesday, October 21, 2008

butternut squash gnocchi


Kenny allowed me to channel my inner Italian once more. I was really intimidated to make gnocchi, but also excited since it's definitely a step up from my usual cooking repertoire. This recipe was adapted from Italian Cooking & Living.

Ingredients:
Gnocchi:
1 butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed, cubed
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring counter and hands
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

White wine butter sauce:
4 Tbsp butter
1 sprig rosemary
2 Tbsp chardonnay
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, and season with salt. Roast in the oven for about 35 minutes, turning once. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Transfer to a food processor and pulse. (*Note- The squash can be roasted a day or two in advance.)

In a bowl, combine the squash puree, flour, cheese, egg yolks and nutmeg and mix to form a uniform dough. Knead the dough and form into a ball. Rip a hunk of dough off the ball and roll it piece into a 1-inch thick rope. Replenishing the flour on your board and hands when necesary, continue to form ropes until you have used up the dough ball. Using a knife, cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.


Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil.

Next, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary and wine, cook until the wine has boiled off, but do not allow the sauce to brown.

When the water is at a rolling boiling, add the gnocchi and boil until the gnocchi rise to the surface, about 3 minutes. Remove the gnocchi using a slotted spoon, holding them over the pot until they have thoroughly drained (you may have to do this in batches), then add them to the butter sauce. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat with the sauce. Garnish with a bit more cheese and serve.

This makes enough gnocchi for 4 servings. Uncooked gnocchi will keep frozen for 3 months.

11 comments:

  1. Butternut squash gnocchi is a fantastic idea! Looks really heavenly, love your pics too!

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  2. I'll need to make this next weekend! About how large of a squash did you use?

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  3. Just realized that link doesn't work anymore- I guess Italian Cooking & Living went under.

    You'll want a squash that's about 1.5 to 2 lbs for this recipe.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. I bet these are incredible. I bet they would be amazing with a sage sauce as well; brilliant, brilliant work!

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  6. i'm going to try this tonight! i just got a butternut squash and didn't know what to do with it. thanks!

    htiip://incrediblecrunchyflavor.wordpress.com

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  7. Just made these, they were awesome! My first gnocchi. Made the sauce with sage instead of the rosemary. Since it is just me at home tonight. I am freezing several batches.

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  8. I made this with acorn squash and used a little under 2 cups of smashed squash, which was a little too sticky so I needed to add more flour. Quite delicious though!!

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  9. Made these for dinner but, silly me, made the mistake of thinking the recipe called for about 2 lbs of squash once I had cooked it. So I ended up adding at least an extra 2 cups of flour, one more egg yolk, and an extra 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. After battling with making the dough the right consistency, which took a while but I won, the gnocchi turned out great. Really good flavor and the sauce was a really nice compliment. Now I've got so much gnocchi in the freezer I think I'm set for the next few months. Great recipe, thank you so much for posting.

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  10. I just tried making these....absolutely yum!!! My husband even liked them and he doesn't usually like weird things. :) The only trouble I had was them being so sticky. But I just dusted with a bit of flour and they were great!

    www.munchtalk.net

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