For the longest time I thought – and truly believed – I didn’t like gnocchi. I think it was partly because my mom ate it all the time when we were kids – but ordered us (plain) pasta – so by the time she finally offered some my way, I was pretty suspicious of the little potato pillows. They looked so foreign and bizarre. I was skeptic.
Buuuuuut then last year I was peer pressured into taking “just one bite”, and whoa (!!!), gnocchi totally has it going on. I love it! So much making up to do…
So, since we’re celebrating pumpkin this week (yay!) , I decided to ditch the potatoes this round and pump these darling little dumplings with p-u-m-p-k-i-n  AND manchego cheese. Manchego cheese doesn’t really have anything to do with pumpkin week, it’s just delicious and blends really well with our bright orange friend. Hooray!
Now, about dressing these little guys! You have a lot of options in that department. As you can see from these photos, I originally chose a very light (but awesome!) buttery sage cheese sauce. It took about 4 minutes to cook, and really let the pumpkin flavor in the gnocchi shine. That being said, this gnocchi can certainly hold its own with a heartier sauce. I cooked the second half of our batch (this recipe makes a hefty amount of dumplings) with a rich chorizo marinara and wow – divine!
No matter what sauce you choose, these petite pumpkin pillows are sure to make you a believer.
Pumpkin Manchego Gnocchi… Do it.
Pumpkin Manchego Gnocchi – Baker by NatureÂ
Ingredients:
(1) 15 oz can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix; it won’t work this time)
1 cup manchego cheese, grated
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour + additional for dusting as needed; the dough will be very sticky
Instructions:
Place the pumpkin, cheese, egg yolks, and spices in a large bowl and mix well.
Add the flour to the wet mixture and gently fold – using a rubber spatula – the ingredients together until just combined. The mixture will be very shaggy.
Generously flour a smooth counter top (or whatever work space you have) and turn the shaggy gnocchi mixture out; knead until smooth, but don’t over work the dough!
Divide the dough into 4, then roll out each piece into a long rope about 1/2″ – 3/4″ in diameter. Cut the rope into 3/4-inch pieces. Continue with all 4 ropes. At this point you can either cook the gnocchi or place the dumplings on a sheet of wax paper and freeze until firm, then transfer to an air tight freezer bag.
If cooking:
Bring a large, salted pot of water to a rapid boil. Add the gnocchi and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until they all float to the top of the pot. Once they come to the top, let them cook for another minute or so, then drain.
Toss with sauce of choice and serve at once!
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
Gnocchi is definitely not something to be skeptical about….so glad you’ve seen the light. And even more glad about the pumpkin gnocchi situation. Pinned!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Gnocchi is on my list of things to make.. but now you just blew my mind and am making me rethink all my hopeful recipes and move to the pumpkin dark side! YUM!
Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says
Oooh…pumpkin and sage have it goin’ on with this gnocchi recipe! Just look at those babies…sweet little dumplings. Mmm! Thanks for sharing, girl!
bakerbynature says
Yes! Pumpkin and sage are total lovers 😉 Thank you, sweet friend! xo
Heidi says
I have a version of this on my blog and it’s one of my favorites! Must compare. Is your dough a little sticky? Seems like I’m adding a lot of flour to mine. My other question: Where’s that chorizo marinara sister?
bakerbynature says
This dough was *very sticky when I was forming the long ropes, but it still wasn’t as bad as scone dough haha. And that chorizo marinara was a beautiful mistake I must recreate asap.
Karen Harris says
Oh wow, what a delicious dish. I’m not a huge pumpkin fan, but this has me convinced to take another look. Love the rustic look of this dish.
bakerbynature says
You’ll love this because the pumpkin is subtle, and you can really play the flavor up or down depending on your sauce choice 😉
Julia says
I’ve been meaning to try pumpkin in a savory dish and it’s been years since I’ve had gnocchi. This looks like such a delicious and healthful meal packed with flavor!
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch says
Mmm! This looks amazing and great for fall!!!
Faith @ Pixie Dust Kitchen says
The first time I had gnocci was when one of my roommates made it for us on her day off. I fell in love. I love this pumpkin version, I’m definitely going to have to try it!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
I am a HUGE gnocchi fan so I know I will absolutely LOVE this dish – amazing!
Dan from Platter Talk says
Genius. Super Genius!!