Sage, butter and grated cheese, or simply tomatoes and basil. When it comes to pumpkin gnocchi, these are the usual sauces served in Italy. But one of the strengths of our cuisine is the variety of traditional ingredients from each region, so we let them inspire us to transform this classic recipe from the city of Mantua. Before we get to the sauces, let’s take a look at the traditional recipe for pumpkin gnocchi.
The recipe
4 servings
14 ounces of pumpkin (or a similar type of squash, like butternut or buttercup), 5 ounces of flour, 3 ounces of durum wheat semolina, 3 1/2 ounces of butter, oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and Parmigiano cheese.
How to
Start by cutting the pumpkin flesh into cubes, then bake at 350°F for half an hour or so, until softened. Once cooled, blend the cubes and add the flour, salt, pepper, and semolina to the mixture. Work with your hands until the dough becomes perfectly manageable and a long strand is formed to cut the gnocchi from. Rib them with the tines of a fork so that the sauce sticks better. Let the pasta cook in salted water for about five minutes and drain using a special skimmer spoon to prevent the gnocchi from sticking to each other.
Decadent with pancetta and gorgonzola
The first suggested sauce for a nice plate of pumpkin gnocchi may seem a bit risky, but it isn’t. In fact, pancetta and gorgonzola are two ingredients that go well together, reducing the excessive, sometimes cloying sweetness of pumpkin without completely covering up this autumnal orange vegetable’s unmistakable flavor.
To prepare this sauce (based on three servings of pumpkin gnocchi), all you need to do is dice up 5 ounces of gorgonzola and brown 3 1/2 ounces of cubed pancetta for a few minutes. Once the gnocchi have been drained, simply add everything together and mix well, without forgetting a nice sprinkling of grated cheese before eating.
Refined with mushroom sauce
Preparing this sauce is simple: clean and slice 11 ounces of mixed mushrooms, finely chop an onion, and finally add 3 tablespoons of cooking cream. Let the sauce heat for 10 minutes in a pan, gradually adding a little cooking water as it dries out, then simply add the sauce to the pumpkin gnocchi after seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Flavorful with speck and walnuts
The idea alone is a burst of flavors: to prepare a lovely first course of pumpkin gnocchi, speck and walnuts, pan-fry 5 ounces of speck cut into strips in very little olive oil, then add 2.5 ounces of chopped walnuts. When the gnocchi have been cooked and drained, simply add them to the sauce, keeping the stove at a very low heat, and mix. A little grated cheese at the end and that’s all there is to it.
Delicious with fondue
Fontina, milk and butter: this is all it takes to prepare an excellent fondue cheese sauce to take your pumpkin gnocchi to another level. Start by dicing 12 ounces of fontina cheese (again for three servings), leaving them to soak, perhaps overnight, in 1 cup of milk. In a pot, melt 3/4 ounce of butter, add the soaked fontina, and pour everything into a small saucepan, simmering in a bain-marie over low heat. When the cheese becomes stringy, add four egg yolks, one at a time, stirring until the mixture stops being stringy (roughly 10 minutes). Once it has become smooth and creamy, this tasty cheese fondue will be the ideal sauce for pumpkin gnocchi.
Delicate with zucchini and mint
The final sauce we recommend for pumpkin gnocchi is made with zucchini and mint. After washing and dicing three zucchinis, melt 2 1/2 ounces of butter in a pan and add the zucchini, maintaining a low heat. Let cook for about ten minutes, then add four or five mint leaves, coarsely chopped by hand. Season with a little salt and pepper (and even a little lemon juice if so inclined), then, with a skimmer spoon, ladle out the pumpkin gnocchi from the pot of water into the pan with this delicious sauce. The combination will be both delicate and bursting with flavor.