Gnocchi-dokie! (Butternut Gnocchi in Sage Sauce)

I tried my first gnocchi a couple nights ago, and it turned out to be quite a success despite me. Rather than a traditional potato gnocchi, I made a butternut squash version (simply because that's what was on-hand).

Using squash limits you just a bit in terms of the range and intensity of flavors you can add to the sauce--the squash itself is mild and vaguely sweet almost, and it would get overwhelmed by a sauce with heavy flavors. I ended up staying very simple, and it turned out to be really tasty.

One of the great things about gnocchi is that they keep for quite a while in the fridge or freezer. Up to 6 months in the freezer, if packaged properly, I've read. I made these a couple nights ago, and when dinner fell through, I stuck them into the fridge in a ziplock. We had them last night, and they were still great.

Here's the scoop:

• 1 butternut squash (doesn't have to be huge)
• plenty of wheat and white flour
• 2 eggs
• a shake of salt
• various spices to taste--I added a dash each of cinnamon, curry, and nutmeg
• a shake of pepper

For the (clearly very complicated) sage sauce:

• 4Tbs butter
• cream
• pepper
• fresh sage leaves

Cook the squash however you'd like, but without adding water--it just has to be soft. I cheated--I cut it down the middle, scooped the seeds, and cooked it in the microwave, cut side down, until I could easily dent the shell with a spoon. You could also roast it if you have time. I bet it would be even better.

Once the squash is cooked and soft enough to scoop with a spoon, do just that--scoop the flesh out into a decent sized bowl. Mash the heck out of it and spread it around and let it cool down a bit. You don't want it so hot the eggs cook immediately when you add them.

Meanwhile, beat two eggs together until mixed. Once the squash has cooled enough, add the eggs and work them through.

Add your spices at this point.

Now was the time of second guessing for me: adding flour. It took so much more than I thought it would that I didn't even bother putting an amount above. I had a false start where I added when I thought was enough, but it was too sticky to cut, and not a proper dough. Lesson learned.

Start by adding a cup of white flour, then alternate to 2/3 cup of wheat, back to white and so on, until you have a nice, flexible, workable dough. You'll know when you've reached this point--it'll be sticky and awful to try to roll and cut before then.

Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on, salt the water, and begin bringing it to a medium boil. Make sure you have a place to roll and cut the gnocchi, something to scoop them out of the hot water with (I used a large slotted spoon) and a platter or bowl in which to keep them after you pull them out.

Once you have a workable dough, take a golf ball sized chunk and roll it into a snake, and cut pieces about an inch long. Mark the tops of them with a fork so the sauce has something to grab onto. Once you've done this lot, drop them into the now boiling water, and let them cook while you make the next lot. The gnocchi float to the surface of the water once they're done.

Now it's all about a little assembly line involving only you. While the first batch is cooking, cut another batch. By the time those are ready the cooking gnocchi will be ready to scoop out. Voila! You'll be kind of amazed how much gnocchi this recipe makes. I have a whole bag in my freezer still.

Sauce time:

Once all the gnocchi is done, you can package some up for later, and try to get the rest of them as dry as possible. I ended up tossing ours in the frying pan. While the gnocchi were turning a lovely golden brown, I put the butter in another saucepan, adding the sage leaves and letting them bubble away in the butter to imbue it with flavor. Some people might want to take the sage out, but I left them in because they were pretty. I then added some cream and a shake of pepper and let it all bubble together while I plated the gnocchi. I poured the sauce at the table. Simple.

The gnocchi had a subtle, round butternut flavor with just a hint of sweetness, and the texture was chewy and substantial, like gnocchi should be. The sauce was surprisingly flavorful, for how simple it was, and it complemented the gnocchi really well. Gnocchi is pretty filling, so a little goes a long way.

Overall, I'd recommend this recipe if you have the time to invest initially. It wasn't quick, and it wasn't a no-brainer, but I came away with probably three meals worth of gnocchi, and the later meals will be incredibly simple and quick--just brown the gnocchi in the frying pan while making the sauce.