Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Pumpkin and Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi are tasty and surprisingly easy to make. Usually anything you have lying around the house will suffice. I've made plain potato gnocchi before, but this time around decided to make it a little more different and combine with pumpkin.
Prepare:
-Peel and chop potato and pumpkin
-Put on a tray and into a pre-heated oven (around 350F) for 20 minutes or until firm and tender (you can stick a fork and it goes all the way in, but comes out easily)-Set aside to cool for a bit (you will be handling them with your hands so cool enough that they don't hurt you)
-In a large bowl, beat 1 egg, and mix in 1 crushed clove of garlic (optional) as well as some salt
-Mash the potato and pumpkin with the egg until it's pretty liquidy-At this time, heat up a pot full of lightly salted water
-Pour in flour, about 1/4 cup at a time, constantly mixing, until it reaches a consistency that it's not so sticky on your hands, but still sticks together and can be rolled
-Roll into several "snake" shapes on a dusted surface
-Cut into bite size piecesCook:
-When the water is at a rolling boil, put the gnocchi in one by one. Don't dump them all in at the same time or the water will stop boiling too suddenly
-Once they start floating to the top (3-4 minutes), take them out-I ate them with homemade pesto, fresh basil, Parmesan, crushed red pepper, and garlic salt










Tips:
-Any normal pasta sauce will do: tomato, creamy cheese, etc. They would even work with just olive oil or butter or sour cream with some dry condiments
-I did equal parts pumpkin and potato, and it gave it a more neutral taste with neither dominating. If you wanted a more sweet flavor, I would do only pumpkin or substitute sweet potato for the potato
-Mashing in a fresh garlic clove was tasty, but a bit strong. Next time I will roast the garlic with the veggies to give a more subtle taste

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