

No way I can make a good pumpkin pie. I haven’t tried it yet but somehow I sense it’s just not my cup of tea. However some kind of pumpkin puree magic must happen in my kitchen since I’ve got a few tins of smashed squash to get rid of. Bear with me, another couple of recipes and I will get it over with all things pumpkin and relatives. Amen.

Meantime it’s pumpkin gnocchi time.

I write homemade gnocchi and my mind goes straight to images of my grandma’s house in Naples. She is a 90 year old lady that enjoys living alone and cooking homemade pasta for her family. On Sundays we still find her working a dough made with potatoes, eggs and flour on a table in a medium sized kitchen overlooking a balcony with plants she takes care of scrupulously. On that table top entirely covered with dumplings and flour she masters technical “gnocchi skills” with a laudable speed I cannot really compete with (well, taking pictures of food disadvantages me a lot :)).



Indeed, it took me half an hour or so to go all the way through the recipe. Too sticky, too wet, unmanageable, unroll-able, gnocchi scattered here and there, flour on the camera and all over me. Bringing to boil these delicious golden nuggets and sauteing them in butter with a few walnuts, took me a few instants instead. Eventually it was just me being too fussy about the shape. Homemade gnocchi are to be beautifully irregular.

In the end I am happy with the final dish and wonder why in Italy no one has spread the voice about pumpkin gnocchi. I can only imagine it wouldn’t be the easiest task ever to explain this pumpkin-puree-in-a-tin story to Italians. Not to mention my grandma. After all, why betray a 3 ingredient recipe proven to make families happy and grandmothers even more adorable every Sunday morning?

No doubt the most traditional gnocchi recipe works perfectly, especially when served with a fresh homemade tomato sauce. Mine? Worked too. However, to be 100% honest I note that the addition of the pumpkin does not contribute in a distinctive way to the taste. Perhaps, at least in this case, it’s more a matter of color and texture. Or just another case of pumpkin mania.



Print Recipe Pumpkin Gnocchi Ingredients 1 cup plain flour plus more to get the right consistency

4-5 tablespoons pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg

4 tbsp. butter

a bunch of parsley finely chopped

a handful of walnuts crushed

salt and pepper to taste Instructions In a bowl combine all the ingredients of the dough together (flour, pumpkin puree, nutmeg, egg and a pinch of salt). Roll the dough with your hands to make small cylinders; Sprinkle more flour if needed to help you shape the cylinders.

With the knife cut them into little pillows about 2 cm each. In a large pan bring water to boil and carefully drop the gnocchi in.

When they rise to the surface drain them and keep aside.

In an another pan over medium heat, add butter, salt, pepper and walnuts.

Transfer the gnocchi in this pan and saute them for a couple of minutes. Stir in the finely shopped parsley for one minute or so. Serve warm.