Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brie and Walnut Sauce

I bought a whole butternut pumpkin a couple of weeks ago and had used up parts of it. But now it’s begging to be used up! So pumpkin gnocchi it is.

This gives you four serves. They are not big serves but because the sauce is so rich, you probably don’t want a lot of it anyway.

(pumpkin pieces in the steamer)

Pumpkin Gnocchi

1. 600 g. pumpkin
2. 1.5 cups of plain flour
3. 1 egg yolk
4. 1 tsp ground nutmeg
5. 1 tbsp of butter

(‘dehydrated’ pumpkin mash)

Cut pumpkin into thin slices and steam them until tender (about 10 or so minutes). Remove the rind and mash the pumpkin with a fork until very smooth in a saucepan. Add butter and nutmeg into the mashed pumpkin. Place on heat and keep stirring the pumpking mash to dry out any water that’s in the pumpkin for about 10-15 minutes. We need to get rid of as much of the moisture in the pumpkin as possible otherwise your gnocchi won’t form properly. Leave the pumpkin to cool, keep stirring if you can so that all the steam escapes.

Once the mash is completely cooled, add an egg yolk to the mash.

Slowly add in the flour and keep mixing with a spatula until the mixture becomes smooth and pale yellow colour.

Once your dough is ready, pat your hand with some flour and cover your work surface with flour. Take a small piece of the dough and roll them up into long shape – size of a small leek. Cut the dough crosswise into rectangular-ish gnocchi pieces. I don’t bother shaping them other ways. Seriously, once they’re covered in sauce, it really doesn’t matter how well shaped they are.

Brie and Walnut Sauce

1. 1/2 cup of walnuts
2. 1 cup of cream
3. 50 g. of brie, cut into small cubes
4. 1 tsp of Vegeta gourmet stock powder (or salt)
5. 2 tsp of fresh tarragon leaves (optional)

Toast the walnut on dry heat for a minute or so. Add cream, brie and stock powder and bring to boil. Add some fresh tarragon if you have any (I don’t but it would have been ace if I do) and leave the sauce to simmer while you cook the gnocchi.

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the gnocchi. Once they float, leave them to cook for 1-2 more minutes. Using a slotted spoon, pour the gnocchi straight into the sauce and mix.

As the sauce is very rich, you just want the sauce to coat the gnocchi so use a slotted spoon to fish out the gnocchi from the sauce as well. Serve.

Note: I’m filing this under Pasta but yes I am well aware that it’s not a pasta!