Pumpkin Tuesday: Pumpkin Gnocchi with brown butter and sage

Here is this weeks pumpkin recipe, pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter and sage. I know it's Thursday already... but I gave my explanation in the previous post. These were delicious. The recipe was really easy but definitely untested. I used one of my Italian regional cookbooks, so you never know what you're going to get. Making these gnocchi was a bit different from normal potato gnocchi, because the dough is wetter and stickier due to the addition of the pumpkin. So you will need to adjust the flour a lot.

Gnocchi are so simple to make in theory, but in practice, it takes a lot of practice to get them right. I have been working on it for years. They have to be like little pillows of softness, but not too soft or they will fall apart. It's really one of those dishes you need to learn to do from a master. Like an Italian mother in-law.

Here is the basic recipe in case you feel brave enough to try them out. 

1 pound pumpkin peeled, seeded and chopped
1 pound potatoes peeled seeded and chopped
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup of flour
salt to taste
pinch of grated nutmeg

Bring a pot of water to a boil with the potato and pumpkin in it. When fork tender remove and drain. Then run the veggies through a food mill or in my case, a few pulses of the food processor until pureed. You don't want any lumps in your gnocchi, it ruins the pillow effect. In a large bowl mix the pumpkin-potatoes with the egg yolks, flour, salt and nutmeg. This is where you will have to adjust the flour until you are able to somewhat handle the dough without too much stickiness. I found that unlike normal gnocchi, this one stayed quite sticky. Take little bits of dough about the side of a marble and roll it in between your hands into and oval shape. Like normal gnocchi. You'll want to toss them with flour so they don't stick to your counter. I have a big wooded pasta board that I use. When you have either used up all the dough or made so many you can't stand it any longer, go ahead and bring a pot of water to a boil. When it is boiling add in some salt and then place gentle in the water a bunch of gnocchi. You will have to do this in batches. As soon as the gnocchi float they are done. Take them out with a spider or slotted spoon and transfer to a pan with the melted butter and sage. Serve right away with lots of parmiggiano.