Sweet Potato Buttrnut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter

Gnocchi – who doesn’t like gnocchi? Little fluffy and delicate dumplings or I like to call them “pillows” made from potatoes, flour and eggs. Very neutral taste of gnocchi takes on a flavor of sauce it’s served it with. Traditional tomato sauce with garlic and basil makes a great flavor combination for this Italian favorite.

Harvest season is upon us, and I am all about utilizing what fall has to offer in the kitchen. Squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, herbs like sage and thyme… great earthy flavors, paired with a glass of good red wine! Makes it autumn my favorite season… gnocchi and harvest - why not make sweet potato and butternut squash gnocchi with brown butter and sage – just the thought of this dish made me hungry!

I did some research on line and found couple of recipes. I based my dinner on the recipe from the October issue of Gourmet Magazine with couple of changes. Have you ever tried gnocchi with brown butter sprinkled with sugar? This is by far the best recipe to try that for the first time. The hint of sweetness from the sweet potato, rich and delicate brown butter and couple of sprinkles of sugar - delicioso! The sugar is optional. I served my gnocchi either with butter and sage or butter and sugar… although mixing both did not taste bad at all… actually it had a quite interesting flavor.

I have to admit the gnocchi itself tasted wonderful, so light and fluffy. I couldn’t put my fork away, it was so good. The ratio of butternut squash is very little, I didn’t want to make my gnocchi too wet, since the sweet potato has already much bigger water content than russet potatoes. And adding too much flour will make them too heavy… so this was basically playing with ingredients and testing the amounts of flour until I achieved the right consistency. The “dough” was still very sticky, it was hard to roll, but it was worth the efforts.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweet Potato Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Butter

• 1 1/4 lb russet (baking potatoes)
• 1 (3/4-lb) sweet potato
• 1/2 cup roasted butternut squash
  
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving
• 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
• 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• 20 sage leaves
• 4 TBS unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle bake russet potatoes, sweet potato the squash and until just tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool potatoes slightly, then peel and force through ricer into sheet pan, spreading in an even layer. Cool mixture completely.

Lightly flour 2 or 3 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper. Beat together egg, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl. Gather potato/squash into a mound in sheet pan, using a pastry scraper if you have one, and form a well in center. Pour egg mixture into well, then knead into potatoes. Knead in cheese and 11/2 cups flour, then knead, adding more flour as necessary, until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Dust top lightly with some of flour. Cut dough into 6 pieces. Form 1 piece of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut rope into 1/2-inch pieces. Gently roll each piece into a ball and lightly dust with flour. Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.

Turn a fork over and hold at a 45-degree angle, with tips of tines touching work surface. Working with 1 at a time, roll gnocchi down fork tines, pressing with your thumb, to make ridges on 1 side. Transfer gnocchi as formed to baking sheets.

Add butter, oil and sage leaves in skillet with 1/2 tsp salt and cook until golden-brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add half of gnocchi to a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water and stir. Cook until they float to surface, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to skillet with butter sauce. Cook remaining gnocchi in same manner, transferring to skillet as cooked. Heat gnocchi in skillet over medium heat, stirring to coat. Serve sprinkled with fried sage and grated cheese.

Uncooked gnocchi can be frozen (first in 1 layer on a baking sheet, then transferred to a sealable bag) up to 1 month. Do not thaw before cooking.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------