The trees are beginning to shed their burnished leaves, shadows are stretched in the autumnal light and staying in is the new going out. This dish is made for cosy evenings in, probably best eaten on the sofa, curled under a blanket with a movie on the box.
Anchovies in my opinion make anything taste better but leave them out if you want to keep this dish veggie. It might also be worth making double the amount of browned butter as you’ll want too drizzle on top of everything you eat.
Pumpkin, Sage and Browned Butter Gnocchi
Course: DinnerCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes20
minutesAnchovies in my opinion make anything taste better but leave them out if you want to keep this dish veggie. It might also be worth making double the amount of browned butter as you’ll want too drizzle on top of everything you eat.
Ingredients
1/2 small butternut pumpkin/ squash
1 tbsp olive oil
500 g gnocchi
180 g unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
4 anchovies, crushed (optional)
1/3 cup sage leaves
1/2 lemon
parmesan
sea salt and cracked black pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 190°C. Peel and deseed the pumpkin then cut into rough 2cm cubes. Place pumpkin on a baking tray lined with baking paper and drizzle with a little olive oil. Cook for around 20 minutes or until tender. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to boil and cook gnocchi according to pack instructions. Drain and put aside.
- Add half of the butter to a pan over a medium-high heat and cook until the butter begins to brown and smell toasty. Add garlic, anchovies (if using) and sage. Season and empty into a bowl.
- Melt the remaining butter in a large pan (the same pan will do if it is large enough) then add the steamed gnocchi, ensuring that the pan is not too crowded. If it is too crowded then the gnocchi will not have a chance to brown properly so you may have to do this step in 2 batches. Cook over a low-medium heat until the gnocchi begins to brown. Add the pumpkin and herby browned butter to the pan. Mix until everything is evenly coated.
- Taste for seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper accordingly. Be cautious with salt if you have used anchovies.
- Serve with a generous sprinkling of shaved parmesan.
