Halloween gnocchi contains pumpkin in a double dose: pulp and seeds – 10/30/2023 – Marcão’s Recipes

Do you know why people make pumpkin lanterns for Halloween? Because in the Northern Hemisphere this is pumpkin season. They harvest the pumpkin in the fall – it’s not witchcraft, it’s seasonality.

In Brazil, the seasons reverse. As it doesn’t make sense to fight against joining American festivals, let’s take advantage of the fact that here, almost everything is available almost all year round.

So take pumpkin in double dose. Let’s make pumpkin gnocchi with toasted pumpkin seeds, added when serving, a fantastic texture.

In an ideal world, we would buy the whole pumpkin, remove the seeds and roast them. We know, however, what a miserable job it is to shell the seeds. Apart from the effort, it hurts under the nails. Eating with the shell is not an option.

Take advantage of the high availability and low price of peeled pumpkin seeds, which you can find in health food stores, to make granola.

As for the pumpkin itself, the best variety is the Japanese (or cabotiã). Ironically, it is the one with the green shell, which is not suitable for making Halloween lanterns.

I only got this recipe right on my second try, also using potatoes in the gnocchi dough.

The first time, with pumpkin, flour and eggs, I got a dough that was too sticky to work with. It could have been the pumpkin I bought, it could have been my mistake.

The fact is that the potato gave more structure to the gnocchi, which didn’t even require eggs. The egg binds the dough – when it cooks, it helps maintain the shape of the pillows – but it also changes the texture of the finished gnocchi. Gnocchi with eggs is harder and heavier.

The sauce is made with just butter and sage. The gnocchi itself, full of starch, creates an orange cream when you mix everything over the stove flame.

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HALLOWEEN GNOCC

Performance: 4 servings

Difficulty: average

Ingredients

500 g Japanese pumpkin, peeled, cubed

1 large potato, peeled, cubed

2 tablespoons olive oil or oil

100 g shelled pumpkin seeds

Wheat flour (as much as you need)

100 g unsalted butter

1 sprig of sage

Salt, black pepper and nutmeg to taste

Grated cheese to serve

Way of doing

1. Heat the oven to 200ºC. In a baking dish, place the pumpkin and potato cubes. Drizzle with olive oil and mix with your hands to coat all the pieces well. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes or until tender.

2. In a bowl, mash the pumpkin and potato with a fork until puree. Season with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. Set aside, uncovered, until cool.

3. While the pumpkin cools, quickly toast the seeds in a frying pan. Set aside without covering (the steam softens the seeds).

4. Add ½ cup of flour to the pumpkin dough and knead. Continue adding flour until you can form a ball that doesn’t stick to your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

5. Put a pan of salted water on to boil.

6. Divide the gnocchi dough into four pieces. Spread flour over the kitchen counter. Using the palms of your hands, roll dough “worms” 2 cm in diameter. Using a spatula or knife, cut the gnocchi.

7. Fill a bowl with ice and cover with water. Cook the gnocchi until they rise to the surface. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to the ice water.

8. In a pan, melt the butter with some sage leaves. Sauté for two minutes and add the drained gnocchi, stirring gently until you make a creamy sauce.

9. Serve with toasted seeds, grated cheese and fresh sage leaves.

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