If you were intrigued but daunted by last week’s potato gnocchi recipe, you might find a pumpkin variation more manageable. You create the lightest, fluffiest Homemade Pan-Fried Potato Gnocchi if you take the time to oven-bake the potatoes and chill them after ricing and again after shaping. Pumpkin gnocchi actually turns out best when mixed, shaped and cooked straightaway.
These dumplings start with pumpkin puree, which I make from sugar or pie pumpkins. The gnocchi turn out soft and airy with any Roasted Winter Squash Puree, including butternut and delicata. It’s crucial to drain the puree well, especially if you thawed a frozen container. The more liquid you drain away, the lighter the gnocchi will be.
Squash gnocchi dough moves steadily through stages similar to potato gnocchi, and the same tricks improve the dumplings. Using just egg yolks keeps the dough tender, as does working it as little as possible and using just enough flour to hold it together. This dough is easier to pat and shape than to roll and stretch, and I skip the classic fork tine impressions that let potato dumplings soak up marinara sauce; forking tends to smush delicate squash gnocchi.
I recommend pan-frying both types of gnocchi. If you made a potato batch the prior day, cook and serve them together over fresh greens with a drizzle of browned butter.
Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi
Serves 4-6
1-1/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Olive oil
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl, scrape the pumpkin puree into it and let drain for at least 30 minutes, removing as much liquid as possible. Mix in 1/2 cup of cheese and the beaten egg yolks.
Mound the flour on a clean work surface and sprinkle with the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. With a fork, mix until combined. Remound the flour and make a well in its center. Scrape the pumpkin mixture into the well. Use your hands to gently incorporate the loose flour, slowly folding it into the pumpkin. Stop adding flour when the dough loses its stickiness and a small amount shapes into a ball.
Shape the soft dough into a low, long, narrow loaf still coated in flour. Use a dough scraper or knife to cut slices, and then gently pat and shape each into a 1/2-inch-thick rope, coating your fingers with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces, and then gently shape the corners with your fingers.
Set a large, heavy-bottomed, oil-coated skillet over medium heat. Fill the hot pan with gnocchi, leaving space between dumplings. Cook for two to four minutes, flip each dumpling and cook another two minutes, until cooked through and starting to brown. Transfer the gnocchi to a parchment-lined tray in a warm oven. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.