Three amazing Pumpkin Gnocchi you need now!

Pumpkin season is most definitely here! 🙂

What do you think of when you think of pumpkin though? Do you think of plump bright orange pumpkins carved into jack-o-lanterns? Do you think of pumpkin pie? Do your think of roasted pumpkin with loads of herbs and garlic? Or, do your thoughts turn to all the delicious foods you can make with such an abundance of different coloured winter squashes such as pumpkin nut loaf, or pumpkin & apple cake?

Maybe you weren’t aware of such a vast array of different pumpkins? Maybe you just know of the big orange pumpkins and butternut squash? Well, look what I was gifted last week…

Oh… it appears I wasn’t the only one who found this strangely formed squash intriguing…

So now I had this fantastic looking Tromboncino squash, I had to find something fantastic to do with it! I love butternut squash roasted, and expected this to be similar! It is not! I have since discovered that Tromboncino can be picked as a summer squash – it is green and more akin to courgette… if you leave it and harvest it in late Autumn, the skin will have hardened slightly and turned golden colour. The taste and texture of this Tromboncino was a cross between a courgette and pumpkin. I couldn’t eat it just roasted – not even with herbs and garlic or gravy!

As this had been gifted to me, I felt really bad that I didn’t like it and decided that there must be something I could do to make it more palatable. Hooray – pumpkin gnocchi was born! This gnocchi is good! So good we went in search of more pumpkins…

I mean, seriously… just look at them all…

Let’s have a closer look at a few…

So we trudged around the fields with a wheelbarrow (well… hubby did)! and we got a bit carried away…

I kind of want to try them all at once so I can see the taste differences! 😛 I think maybe we should save a few though – they will keep for a couple of months if stored properly! 😀

Anyway, now we are all pumpkined (or squashed) out! I have absolutely no excuse not to make more of this delicious gnocchi! With three different recipes to choose from, there really is something for everyone! The base recipe is very simple and much easier to make than you might think! If you want, you can add herbs and spices to the dough before cooking, but we have left it plain so we can switch up the flavours as we please.

5 from 1 vote

Print

Pumpkin Gnocchi

A seasonal take on traditional gnocchi, easy to make and so simple to make a range of dishes from.

Course: Dessert, Main Course, Side Dish

Keyword: gnocchi, Halloween, pasta, pumpkin, squash

Created by:: Laurena @LifeDietHealth

Gather

• 500 g pumpkin or squash
• 50 g plain flour
• Water for cooking
• sauce of choice (see instruction 6).

Prepare

1. Cook the pumpkin via your favourite method – this could be roasting with a drizzle of oil, baking whole (with a few cuts in it to prevent bursting), boiling without the skin in chunks, or steaming in the same manner. Once the pumpkin is cooked, allow to cool, then remove the skin.

2. Depending on the type of pumpkin used will depend on how easy the next stage is! You need to remove as much water as possible from the pumpkin. You could do this using a sieve, a potato masher, a fork, your hands, or a cheesecloth. We used a cheesecloth as the Tromboncino was very watery after baking. From our 500g of flesh, we ended up with 200g of pumpkin. Reweigh the pumpkin and divide this by four. This is roughly the amount of flour you want (we had 200g pumpkin, we used 50g flour).

3. Add the flour to the pumpkin and mix well until you have a soft pliable dough. Add a bit more flour if necessary. If you wanted to add salt, pepper, garlic, herbs etc, add them at this stage.

4. Divide the dough into manageable pieces and roll into ropes. Cut the rope into pieces about 2cm each. Gently press the tines of a fork into each piece.

5. Boil a pan of water (you can salt this if you are making savoury gnocchi and haven't flavoured the dough). Carefully drop several gnocchi into the pan and wait for them to cook. When ready, the gnocchi will rise to the surface and float. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi.

6. Make your preferred sauce while the pumpkin is cooking, so it is ready to add the gnocchi to. We made the following three sauces:

   A simple tomato sauce using tomato puree, water and fresh tomatoes with onions, oregano, garlic, basil and seasonings, then topped the gnocchi with grated cheese.

   A pesto sauce using store bought pesto, toasted pine nuts, peas, chopped mange tout, mint leaves and finely grated cheese.

   A sweet sauce made from natural yogurt, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg, served with fresh apple, blackberries and toasted pecans.

7. Enjoy!

   Gnocchi can be made ahead and reheated. Store refrigerated for up to three days or freeze for up to a month.

We really hope you will make this gnocchi and also experiment with different pumpkins! If you are local to Essex and free this weekend, weather permitting the Pumpkin Patch at Foxes Farm is an amazing place to go to (for adults as well as children) – check out their website to find more details.

Here’s a few Pumpkin related items you might find yourself needing over the next week or so! 😛

If you make a purchase through these links we do receive a small commission at no extra cost to yourself! These pennies help us keep the website running! ?

Feel free to share our recipes if you enjoy them (and if you make your own variations of them)! Use the hashtag #LifeDietHealth or tag us @LifeDietHealth. We can be found on Facebook, Twitter and  Instagram, and have a look and see what we’re liking on Pinterest too! Thank you!  ?

Have a fab weekend and let us know what Pumpkins you find and what you’re serving with your gnocchi! We’re sharing these gnocchi over at Fiesta Friday with the lovely Angie… come over and say hello!

We love to hear from you so drop us a line below in the comments – we always reply to everyone personally! ?