Pumpkin Gnocchi with Hazelnut Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups pumpkin
1 1/2 cups AP flour, plus more for rolling out the gnocchi
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Roast the pumpkin. Get 3 small sugar pumpkins of about 10” in diameter, very carefully slice in half with a heavy knife and scoop out the seeds. You could probably get away with 2 pumpkins since I had a lot of leftover flesh. Lightly oil the cut edges of the squash, and place cut side down on a baking sheet into a 350 degree oven, and roast until tender and you can poke through the skin easily with a fork, about 40 minutes.

Step 1:

Remove from oven, let cool, and scoop out the flesh. Process in a food processor until no more lumps remain (check for large lumps with a spoon). It will look like this:

You can do this a day or so in advance, I did it the night before.

Step 2:

The ingredients:

Step 3:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or heavy spatula. Spread 1/4 cup flour on a large cutting board and gently knead the dough until most of the stickiness has gone away.

Add more flour as necessary; my pumpkin has a higher water content than canned pumpkin so I probably added about another 1/2 cup of flour. Knead as little and lightly as possible to keep the pumpkin gnocchi tender. When you’re done, roll it into a ball.

Step 4:

And divide it into quarters or sixths. Take each portion, and roll it out into a long cylinder around 3/4 to 1” in diameter.

Step 5:

Cut each log into little pieces and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. These can keep in the fridge for several hours until you’re read to use, or you may freeze them on a baking sheet, and once frozen, put them into a freezer baggie for up to a month. They can be cooked frozen, they’ll just take an extra minute or two.

Step 6:

Now, on to making the hazelnut cream sauce!

Roast about 1/2 cup of hazelnuts in a 350 degree oven (I used my toaster oven) until fragrant and lightly browned. While still warm, place in a textured kitchen towel and rub together. This will loosen the skins.

Step 7:

When all the skins are removed, lightly chop or smash and place in a small saucepan over medium heat with a bit of butter. Let cook for a few minutes.

Add a bit of salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/3 cup of heavy cream and about 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Let cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and a lovely sauce consistency.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pumpkin gnocchi while stirring the pot to prevent them from sticking to the bottom and each other. When they float to the surface, boil for another two minutes, then either move to a pan of warm water to hold, or drain and plate.

Step 8:

Pour the sauce over the gnocchi, and garnish with fresh thyme and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Mmmm, pumpkin gnocchi with hazelnut cream sauce!