Gnocchi is a great entry point for homemade pasta! This recipe for homemade squash gnocchi doesn’t require a pasta maker, a food processor, or any fancy tools. If you’ve played with modeling clay as a child, you can make gnocchi. Rolling out the dough into long strands may give you flashbacks to your younger years. Just make sure you only add flour if the dough is sticking. Add too much and you’ll lose the light fluffy texture of truly great gnocchi. The addition of squash puree ups the seasonal wow factor and nutrition. You can use canned pumpkin, roasted butternut, or any combination of winter squash you have on hand.

Serves 6
Total Time: 50 minutes
Vegetarian

Ingredients 

• ¾ cup ricotta
• ¾ cup squash puree
• 1 large egg
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Fresh sage leaves

Directions

1. Whisk together ricotta, squash puree, egg, salt, and nutmeg.
2. Add flour and stir until mixture forms a soft ball; rest for 10 minutes covered.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, add sage leaves and swirl pan around to crisp sage and allowing butter to brown evenly. Turn off heat and set aside.
4. Cut dough into six even portions and roll into a ½-inch log shape, using flour as necessary to keep from sticking. Cut logs into 1-inch pieces and set aside on a floured surface.
5. Drop gnocchi into boiling water in batches and cook until they float, about 3 minutes. Carefully strain cooked gnocchi.
6. Put the brown butter and sage pan back over medium-low heat and add cooked gnocci. Heat through and serve promptly.