How to make pumpkin gnocchi. Vegan easy and tasty homemade recipe.

As we get closer to autumn season my mind can only think about the many fruit and vegetable nature have to offer in this lovely time of the year. Temperature goes slowly down and we might need to go out with an extra jacket, but who cares when the colours that surround us are the shade of red, yellow and green?

And here comes pumpkin, the perfect autumn fruit (because it is not a vegetable). Thousand of recipes can be made with this perfect ingredient, sweet and savoury.

But today we are going to make an easy, yet tasty recipe: pumpkin gnocchi. To start the autumn the best way!

On this page, you will learn how to make the best pumpkin gnocchi just by following the few guidelines I share; also, at the end of the article you will read about the best matching sauce for this tasty recipe.

Easy pumpkin gnocchi recipe

Since I have lived around the world for over 9 years now, every time I start working in a new restaurant everyone is like: “Oh my God, you are Italian! I love bolognese, chicken parmi, mushrooms carbonara” and so on.. I get a little sad when all the tasty, simple and traditional Italian food gets altered with thousands of different ingredients that do not even make sense together.

Though I do understand the fact I might be on the other side of the world, or somewhere where Italian cuisine isn’t a big thing, I always try to explain what is for real Italian food! (at least for Italians)

The deep connection with food in Italy seems to be as old as the Romans; back when all the feasts abounded and food and wine were a big part of it. This might be the reason why the whole country and most of the Italians are very connected to the simplicity of the ingredients the peninsula has to offer.

Pumpkin gnocchi isn’t the main gnocchi recipe – potato gnocchi is the original one – but the unique taste and nutritional value of this fruit make this gnocchi recipe easy to make, sweet in taste and lighter to digest. So if you are looking for these characteristics for your next meal or for your dinner with friends and family this is definitely the recipe to try. And don’t worry, you won’t get it wrong!

What ingredients do you need?

Funny as something so delicious can be made out of a few ingredients only, and guess what: it is naturally vegan, as you won’t need to add any eggs or cheese to the dough.

As the pumpkin will give the most of the flavour and texture, the sauce you are going to use can be as simple as butter and sage or a light tomato sauce.

• Delica (Mantovana) or Kabucha pumpkin are the best options for this dish. You will need to use a dry and sweet pumpkin to obtain the best flavour and texture for this simple gnocchi recipe.
• Plain flour
• Salt

How do you proceed to make pumpkin gnocchi?

This pumpkin gnocchi recipe requires fresh and good quality ingredients. The dryest the pumpkin the better texture you will achieve.

Avoid the use of butternut squash or can cooked pumpkin as they contain a higher water percentage and they are just not right. Pumpkin gnocchi has its origin in Mantova (the countryside of the Lombardy region) and here is where you get the best pumpkin to make this recipe: zucca Mantonava. This variety is quite easy to find in Europe, though if you struggle it is okay to use the Kabucha pumpkin variety.

Let’s start to rock’n’roll!

Heat the oven to 180°c (160°c fan). Start by washing the pumpkin and cutting it into halves, remove the seeds – keep them aside if you need to make some baked spicy snacks – and cut the pulp into big chunks. Place them on a tray with baking paper and place around a whole garlic and fresh rosemary.

Put the pumpkin in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until soft making sure they don’t get coulored.

Once cooked remove it from the oven and peel the skin off – I find it easier when it’s cooked, and you can use it to make crunchy pumpkin chips – while it is still hot start mashing the pulp with a potato masher or a fork.

Depending on how much pumpkin mashed pulp you have, start adding the weighted flour and the salt to make a soft yet consistent dough. Let it rest over sprinkled flour for 10 minutes under a dry cloth. Once the time has passed check if you may need to add a little more flour to get a more solid texture, and divide the dough into smaller pieces.

Roll it with your palms to form a thick sausage (2 cm diameter) and start cutting around 2 cm in length. Place the pumpkin gnocchi on a dry tray with sprinkled flour making sure they do not stick together. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Meanwhile, the gnocchi gets a little extra rest, fill up with water in a deep saucepan and take it to a boil, add the salt and pour slowly the pumpkin gnocchi into it. To be sure they don’t stick while cooking, give it a little stirring and wait for them to bob to the surface.

Pick them up with a skimmer and add it to your favourite sauce.

Which sauce should I use?

As promised here are some simple seasonings for your tasty and easy pumpkin gnocchi recipe.

• Butter and sage. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the fresh sage leaves. Let the essential oil of this aromatic herb blend together with the butter and add your gnocchi straight into the pan. Drizzle a touch of freshly grated nutmeg. Yes, you can use vegan butter and get the same experience.
• Garlic and basil tomato sauce. Make a simple soffritto with garlic cloves and fresh-picked basil. Once the perfume of these three ingredients has reached its peak, add passata and cook for around 20 minutes low simmer with a pinch of salt.
• Creamy mushroom sauce. Cook the mushrooms in a pan, add cooking water, salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic. Let it cook for 10 minutes maximum and blend everything together adding a dash of olive oil and cooking water if needed.