Gnocchi are Italian dumplings that are usually made from potatoes. In northern Italy, in autumn and winter, they are made from pumpkin, and the dough is held together by a completely different ingredient.

The recipe was shared by food writer Iryna Chornii on her blog European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii.

According to the author, pumpkin gnocchi are one of the oldest dishes of Mantua in Lombardy. They are served with melted butter, which can be flavoured with sage leaves, or with a mushroom sauce.

What you need

  • pumpkin — 1 kg;
  • onion — 1;
  • butter — 80 g;
  • semolina — 200 g;
  • egg yolk — 1;
  • grated Parmesan — 4 tbsp;
  • flour for dusting — 100 g;
  • ground nutmeg — a pinch;
  • salt and white pepper — to taste.
Ingredients for pumpkin gnocchiPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
Ingredients for pumpkin gnocchi

How to make it

1. Prepare the vegetables. Peel the pumpkin and cut it into cubes. Peel and finely chop the onion.

Cubed pumpkin and chopped onionPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
Cubed pumpkin and chopped onion

2. Braise. Put the pumpkin and onion in a pan or a deep frying pan, add 30 g of butter and 5 spoonfuls of water. Braise under a lid for 30 minutes.

3. Mash the pumpkin. When the pumpkin is soft but the pieces have not yet fallen apart, mash it with a potato masher.

The soft pumpkin is mashed with a masherPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
The soft pumpkin is mashed with a masher

4. Cook the semolina. Pour in the semolina in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a whisk. Season with salt and pepper, cook gently for 2–3 minutes and leave to cool.

Semolina cooked into the pumpkin puréePhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
Semolina cooked into the pumpkin purée

5. Add the yolk and cheese. Add a pinch of nutmeg, the yolk and a spoonful of Parmesan and knead the dough well.

An egg yolk goes into the doughPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
An egg yolk goes into the dough

6. Shape the gnocchi. Dust the work surface generously with flour and put the dough on it. Divide it into small portions, roll them into ropes about a centimetre thick and cut them into one-centimetre pieces.

The dough is rolled into ropesPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
The dough is rolled into ropes

7. Roll in flour. Roll each piece in flour, giving it a round shape.

The gnocchi are rolled in flourPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
The gnocchi are rolled in flour

8. Boil. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the gnocchi in small batches and cover the pan at once so the water comes back to the boil quickly and they do not go soggy. Do not stir: the gnocchi will slowly rise on their own. Lift them out with a slotted spoon as soon as they float and the water boils again, after about a minute.

The gnocchi are boiled in salted waterPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
The gnocchi are boiled in salted water

9. Serve. Immediately pour the remaining melted butter over the gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Pumpkin gnocchi with ParmesanPhoto: Iryna Chornii / European Cuisine with Iryna Chornii
Pumpkin gnocchi with Parmesan

Serve the gnocchi straight away while they are hot. For a more filling dinner, they go well with a mushroom sauce.

As a reminder, last week we made an Italian wild mushroom risotto.

Nota bene

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