Saturday, October 25, 2008

Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Pine Nuts

Inspiration:
Butternut squash, garlic, and onions from our CSA
and
The Kitchn


Ingredients:
  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup fresh sage leaves
  • 1 package (16-18oz.) gnocchi (I used Trader Joe's)
  • 3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 4 ounces high quality Parmesan, shredded or shaved (about a cup total)

Instructions:
  1. Heat the oven to 375°. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the strings and seeds the middle cavity. Flip the squash halves upside down and peel them. (Note from The Kitchn: The raw squash rind can irritate your hands. If they start to itch or tingle, wear gloves.) Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes. Toss with the onion, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Mince about half of the fresh sage leaves and also toss with the squash.

  2. Spread the squash mixture in a thin layer on a large baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft.

  3. Heat salted pasta water to boiling and cook the gnocchi. Drain and set aside. As the squash finishes roasting, heat about two tablespoons of olive oil in a large high-sided sauté pan. The oil is ready when it pops and sputters. (Don't let it start smoking.) Drop in the rest of the sage leaves and fry for about a minute, or until they begin to just shrivel up.

  4. Remove with a slotted spoon and salt lightly. Crush with the back of a spoon.

  5. Add half the gnocchi to the pan, along with half the roasted squash mixture. Crumble in half the sage. Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes or until the gnocchi is heated through and getting crispy on some of the edges. Add the pine nuts and cook for another minute. Stir in half the cheese and serve.

    (Note from The Kitchn: Repeat the last step with the rest of the ingredients. It's very important that you not crowd the pan too much - you want the pasta to really pan-fry, not just steam up.)


Notes:
I really enjoyed this recipe. I didn't have any short pastas on hand as used in the original recipe, so I used a package of gnocchi from Trader Joe's instead. It was delicious! I used only 1/2 of the squash, however, and saved the remainder of the roasted squash for another recipe.


I love this flavor combination and would like to try some of the following recipes:

Liz's Rating: 9/10

10 comments:

Erin said...

I think I might have to try this one soon! Looks great!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oh my, that looks sensational.

weezermonkey said...

Gnocchi is so good it should be called yesschi.

Anonymous said...

I love butternut squash! This looks great!!

Cate said...

Perfect combination of flavors! I can't wait to try it (and maybe, if I'm feeling extremely ambitions, make my own gnocchi!)

Elizabeth said...

I am new to this blog and this was my first thing to try...soon to be followed by the Brazilian Shrimp Soup. My first "go" from the Liz blog was sensational...even w/out fresh sage, dried. Thankfully there were leftover and I gave it a higher rating then my husband so I call it for lunch! Thank you Liz!
Elizabeth

Maria said...

This one looks awesome!!

Melissa said...

Looks fabulous! I have everything except the gnocchi from my CSA. Definitely making this this week!

Unknown said...

this looks delicious! i've been trying to look for some more "seasonal" recipes and this really fits the bill.

Disco Jess said...

this looks great! I'm making it this weekend for a pre thanksgiving party. How many servings would you say this is??