Recipe

Pumpkin Gnocchi

By Caty Schnack at New York University

Gnocchi, pasta’s carbohydrate-charged cousin, can be a tricky thing to make. Although it’s typically only made with a few ingredients (potatoes, flour, seasonings and sometimes an egg or two), it takes work. You have to cook potatoes and either mash them or put them through a potato ricer (who even has one of those?) before you even think about making the dough, and ain’t nobody got time for that. In this recipe, we sub a can of pumpkin for a potato to lessen the work load and make the pasta seasonally appropriate. (Also FYI: it’s pronounced nyo-key.)

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 can of pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cup flour, plus extra for
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the can of pumpkin, 1/2 cup of flour and pumpkin pie spice.

2. Add the remaining flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until the mixture is workable (you may not need the entire 1 3/4 cup of flour). When the dough is no longer really sticky and pulls apart from the bowl, stop mixing.

3. Start boiling a large pot of salted water.

4. Liberally flour a work space (use a really big cutting board or a clean countertop) and top it with the dough. Knead the dough briefly by pressing into it with the heel of your hand, folding, then repeating a few more times.

5. Break off a tennis-ball sized piece of dough.

6. Roll the smaller of dough to about a 1/2″ thick rope.

7. Cut off equal sized pieces, about 3/4″ each.

8. If you want your gnocchi to look authentic, press the prongs of a fork onto each piece of gnocchi, then re-shape. This step is optional and takes a bit longer.

9. Transfer the pieces to a parchment or foil-lined surface and arrange in a single layer. Repeat steps 5-8 with the remaining dough.

10. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water a few pieces at time and stir gently to make sure they don’t stick together. About a minute after the pieces rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon. It should take about 3 minutes to cook each batch. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi.

11. Serve with brown butter and sage or your choice of sauce!