Pumpkin Gnocchi

As the fall starts to turn into winter, I'm trying to consume all things pumpkin. I've made gnocchi once before (see my parsnip gnocchi recipe), and it wasn't very hard, so I decided to try this recipe that I found on Tastespotting. The recipe called for real pumpkin, but I was feeling lazy and went the canned puree route. The whole wheat flour makes this a bit more dense than regular gnocchi, but it was tasty all the same. I had some asparagus leftover from another recipe, and set Dave to work figuring out how to cook it. He baked it with some olive oil and cheese - it was delicious!! Brownie points for that and the Pumple Drumkin beer he picked out (see photo above) - it's from Cisco Brewers in Nantucket, and it was yummy! I generally don't like beer, but I like to try nicer beers (beyond those I've tried at house parties...) and I can officially say I no longer hate beer. It's a step in the right direction...yes?

1 can pumpkin puree
2 (ish) cups of unbleached white whole wheat flour
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
A few sprigs of thyme
(optional) freshly grated parmesan

Turn pureed pumpkin into a large bowl. Add egg and salt and pepper before folding in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. When you have added enough flour to produce a dough like consistency and forms a ball, turn out the ball onto a floured surface and knead a few times, adding a bit of flour if needed, until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Take a small section of the dough and roll out into a thin rope. Cut into 1″ sections and make indents on one side with a wet fork. Repeat with remaining dough. This makes a lot of gnocchi, about 4 servings, depending on your appetite. To save some for later, place half of the finished gnocchi on a floured baking sheet and freeze for up to two hours before placing them together in a freezer bag.

Place the other half of the gnocchi a dozen at a time in boiling water. Cook until they all float to the top. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan with butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme to medium heat until the butter melts and you’ve coaxed the aroma out of the herbs. Toss gnocchi in the butter/oil mixture, and enjoy.
(**note: I put half of the gnocchi in the freezer, and therefore used half of the recipe for the sauce: 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil, with dried thyme)

Original recipe here 

Parsnip Gnocchi

 

Parsnip gnocchi?! Whaaaat?! Another specialty a la Mark Bittman.
(Not the prettiest dish, but delicious. Another fun Saturday activity).
This was my first time making gnocchi - it's actually not all that hard, and it is definitely one of my favorite foods. Next time I'm going to try sweet potato gnocchi.

Parsnip Gnocchi
4 servings (or 1 Dave serving plus 1 Kristen serving)

1 pound parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional) - I forgot about this so left it out, but I'm sure it would have been delicious (even if dried)

1. Roast, steam, or boil parsnips until very tender (I boiled - only took 15-20 minutes or so). Be sure to drain well before proceeding. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
2. Puree the parsnips in a food processor until smooth; sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Add about 1 cup of the flour, the Parmesan, and the nutmeg and stir; add more flour until the mixture forms a dough you can handle. Knead for a minute or so on a lightly floured surface (I more than "lightly" floured it). The idea is to make a dough with as little additional flour as possible.
3. Roll a piece of dough into a rope about 1/2 inch thick, then cut the rope into 1-inch lengths; traditionally, you would spin each of these pieces off the tines of a fork to score it lightly. As each gnoccho is ready, put it on a sheet of wax paper; do not allow them to touch. (There is a good drawing of how to score the gnocchi, which I cannot reproduce, but I'm sure there are good instructions online somewhere).
4. A few at a time, add the gnocchi to the boiling water and stir. A minute after they rise to the surface, the gnocchi are done; remove with a slotted spoon. Put in a bowl and sauce or reheat in butter wthin a few minutes; these do not keep well (so eat them in one sitting like I did!).

Sauce: Butter, Sage, and Parmesan

4 tablespoons of butter
20-30 fresh sage leaves
1 cup Parmesan

Heat 4 or more tablespoons butter with 20 or 30 fresh sage leaves; the butter should brown and the sage sizzle. Toss pasta with the butter, sage, and Parmesan, thinning the sauce with pasta cooking liquid if necessary.