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–+ servings

Pumpkin Gnocchi

Dinner
Golden pumpkin gnocchi with crispy sage butter, pan-fried until they've got that perfect contrast, soft and pillowy inside, golden and crisp outside. Served with vegetarian lardons, bitter radicchio leaves, fresh parsley, and a proper grating of parmesan, this is the kind of plate that makes you want to curl up indoors whilst it's grey outside.
Pumpkin Gnocchi recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients 

For the Gnocchi
For Serving
  • 60 gr unsalted butter
  • 12 leaves sage
  • 100 gr vegetarian lardons or pancetta if not keeping it veggie
  • 50 gr radicchio leaves
  • parsley
  • 40 gr Parmesan cheese for grating
  • salt and black pepper

Equipment

Instructions

1. Roast the pumpkin

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Cut the butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds (save them for roasting if you're feeling virtuous), and place the halves cut-side up on a lined baking tray. Roast for 25–30 minutes until the flesh is completely tender when you poke it with a knife.
    This is the most important step. Roasting, not boiling, not steaming, concentrates the flavour and keeps the flesh dry. If your pumpkin is watery, you'll need tonnes of flour to compensate, and your gnocchi will end up rubbery.
    Once it's cooked, let it cool slightly, then scoop out the flesh and mash it until smooth. You want about 300g of flesh. Set aside to cool completely.

2. Cook the potatoes

  1. Whilst the pumpkin roasts, put the potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 20–25 minutes until completely tender. The potatoes need to be really soft, no hard bits in the centre.
    Drain them well, then peel them whilst they're still hot (hold them with a tea towel if they're too hot to handle). Push the hot potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl. If you don't have a ricer, use a fine-mesh sieve and the back of a spoon. Don't use a food processor or you'll end up with glue.

3. Combine pumpkin and potato

  1. Add the mashed pumpkin to the riced potato. Weigh them, you want roughly 600g total (about 300g pumpkin, 300g potato). Add the salt, nutmeg, and 30g parmesan. Mix gently with a fork.
    Make a well in the centre, add the beaten egg, and mix until just combined. Don't overwork it.

4. Add the flour (carefully)

  1. Start with 150g flour. Sprinkle it over the mixture and fold it in gently with your hands or a pastry blender. The dough should come together but still feel slightly sticky. If it's too wet to handle, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until you can shape it. But be stingy with the flour, the less you add, the lighter your gnocchi.
    The dough should be soft, slightly tacky, but not sticking to your hands. When you can roll it into a log without it falling apart, you're done.

5. Shape the gnocchi

  1. Lightly flour your work surface. Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about 1.5cm thick. Cut into 2cm pieces.
    If you want the classic ridges, roll each piece down the back of a fork with your thumb. Or leave them plain, they'll taste the same. As you shape them, place them on a floured tea towel in a single layer. Don't let them touch or they'll stick together.

6. Cook the gnocchi (in batches)

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, just small bubbles breaking the surface. Working in batches of about 20, drop the gnocchi into the water. They'll sink, then float to the top after 1–2 minutes. Once they float, give them another 30 seconds, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon.
    Place them on a clean tea towel to drain whilst you cook the rest. Don't skip the batch cooking, too many at once and they'll stick together and cook unevenly.

7. Fry the lardons

  1. Whilst the gnocchi cook, heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the vegetarian lardons. Fry for 4–5 minutes until golden and crisp. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

8. Make the sage butter and finish the gnocchi

  1. In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and let them sizzle for 30 seconds until crisp and fragrant. Don't let the butter burn, you want it golden, not brown.
    Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan in batches (don't crowd them). Fry for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. You might need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your pan. Add a bit more butter if the pan looks dry.

9. Assemble and serve

  1. Toss the fried gnocchi with the crispy lardons and torn radicchio leaves. The heat from the gnocchi will wilt the radicchio slightly, which is exactly what you want. Divide between four warm plates.
    Scatter over the fresh parsley, grate over a generous amount of parmesan, and finish with a few twists of black pepper and a pinch of flaky salt. Eat immediately whilst they're still crispy!

Notes

  • The amount of flour you need depends entirely on how dry your pumpkin and potato were. Start with less and add more if needed. Too much flour = dense, rubbery gnocchi.
  • You can shape the gnocchi up to 4 hours ahead. Lay them on a floured tray, cover with a tea towel, and refrigerate. Or freeze them in a single layer on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid. Cook from frozen, just add an extra minute to the cooking time.
  • Traditional gnocchi boards: If you've got one, brilliant. If not, a fork works perfectly well. The ridges help the sauce cling, but it's not essential.
  • Vegetarian lardons: Most supermarkets sell these now. If you can't find them, use diced smoked tofu or just skip them and add more parmesan.
  • Radicchio: This adds a lovely bitter contrast to the sweet pumpkin. If you can't find radicchio, use rocket or baby spinach instead.