Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage and Brown Butter

squash gnocchi

Thanksgiving isn’t all about the turkey, yes turkey is all well and good, but to me Thanksgiving is all about the sides! One of my favorite sides are these butternut squash gnocchi.

I’ve been serving them for years at my Thanksgiving table. I normally make them a week or two ahead of time and have them tucked in my freezer until turkey day.

They may be small in size but not in flavor, they’re slightly sweet with the rich flavor of parmesan cheese running through every tender bite.

roasted squash

You start out by roasting your squash, roasting the squash adds to the depth of flavor, when tender and soft cool it down and then scoop out the pulp.

Next you’ll toss it into a food processor until it becomes nice and smooth without any lumps.

forming gnocchi

What I’ve learned over the years is that after processing the squash you’ll see that the squash holds onto some moisture, so a good thing to do is to toss the pureed squash into a sauce pan and cook it down until you see the moisture disappear, maybe five or ten minutes. When you cook some of the moisture out you won’t have to keep adding flour, which in turn could make them too heavy and doughy.

Then you’ll want to make sure to cool the mixture down completely before you start mixing in the flour and other ingredients.

NOTE: I always test my gnocchi before I form all of them. I boil a few just to see if they stay together, this will ensure you that your mixture is sturdy enough and they won’t fall apart and become mushy in the water. Sometimes you might have to add a little more flour. This is a very important step!

 

making gnocchi

No doubt making gnocchi is a labor of love but I can tell you it’s worth every bit of the time it takes, and remember you can make them ahead at your convenience.

butternut squash gnocchi

There is no ricotta or potato added to these gnocchi, it is straight up butternut squash that’s permeating  throughout these tender bundles.

boiled gnocchi

Gnocchi take very little time to cook, always place them into salted boiling water, as soon as they float up to the top they’re basically done. Never ever pour them into a big strainer, you need to hand scoop them out like shown in thee picture above. Gnocchi are very delicate.

pan of gnocchi

A quick toss into toasty brown butter flavored with frizzled sage, if you want you can add a touch of pasta water to loosen the sauce up a bit.

Brown butter sauce is the perfect compliment to these delicious gnocchi!

Thanksgiving plate

My Thanksgiving plate from years past where’s there’s always room for the butternut squash gnocchi, and I should say that the leftovers are just as good the next day!

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Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Parmesan, Sage and Brown Butter
 
Butternut squash with hints of parmesan in every tender bite!
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Ingredients
  • FOR THE GNOCCHI
  • 1 large butternut squash, around 3 lbs. roasted then pureed to yield 2 cups
  • 1 heaping ½ cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano plus extra for garnish
  • 1 large egg, whisked
  • 1 teaspoon, salt
  • pinch of black pepper
  • 2 plus cups of all purpose, unbleached flour
  • FOR THE BROWN BUTTER SAUCE
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • a handful of fresh sage leaves
Instructions
  1. Carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, drizzle each half with olive oil, salt and pepper and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, cut side down, at 375 until tender and the tip of a knife goes through easily 40 minutes or so.
  2. Scoop the flesh of the squash out and place it into a food processor, puree until completely smooth with no lumps.
  3. Place pureed squash into a sauce pan on medium heat, stirring often to evaporate any moisture that might be showing up in the mixture.
  4. Next cool down that mixture completely, so place the pan into the fridge until completely cooled .
  5. Now you’re ready to start forming the gnocchi.
  6. In a bowl add the pureed squash with parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and egg.. Then add the flour little by little into the mixture and work together by hand. It will be very sticky, you might need to add more flour, or even less, just judge by the feel of the dough, you have to be able to roll it.
  7. Once smooth, flour the work surface, Divide dough into 6 pieces and then roll each piece into a long strip, about ½ inch wide. Cut the strip into ½ inch pieces.
  8. Using a gnocchi board, a fork, the back of a grater or just as is, to create ridges. Place each piece on floured wax paper and repeat with the rest of the dough.
  9. At this point you can freeze them in single layer until solid frozen then place the gnocchi into zip lock bags until ready to use.
  10. When ready to eat, have a large pot of salted water going, when boiling add the frozen gnocchi, (don't let the water boil so so hard, lower it a bit) when they float up to the top, they’re pretty much done, but you can test one to make sure. Always take them out of the water with a hand strainer like a Chinese spider, never pour them into a big strainer, gnocchi are delicate.
  11. You don't ever want your gnocchi to blow up and over cook, they should have a little bite to them.
  12. While the gnocchi is in the water cooking make your brown butter sauce by melting the butter over medium heat, when it starts to to smell nutty and turn golden brown toss in your sage leaves and let them fizzle.
  13. Take your gnocchi from the water with a hand strainer, gently and place them into the brown butter sauce, tossing till covered, If you want to loosen the sauce up a bit, add a little pasta water, then add more parmigiano.
  14. They're ready to eat now!

 

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Butternut Squash Risotto with Crispy Sage

butternut squash risotto

There’s nothing more satisfying than a piping hot pot of creamy risotto, the variations and combinations of fresh seasonal vegetables and spices you can use are endless. I’ve posted many different risotto’s throughout the different seasons on this blog but my absolute favorite this time of year is, butternut squash risotto.

Roasted butternut squash gets folded into a creamy rice base flavored with parmesan, white wine, a hint of sage, onion and broth, then topped with crispy browned butter sage leaves, it is heavenly!

This dish could be the star of the show or play a supporting role as a side dish, below I’ll show you how I paired it with roasted shrimp, another wonderful variation.butternut squash

I like to cut up my own squash, I usually buy a large one, dice it up and roast the whole thing and you can do this days ahead of time.  Of course you won’t need that much for the risotto you’ll have extra but that’s a good thing, you can toss it into salads, soups, pasta, stews and omelettes, you get the picture it will never go to waste.making risotto

Using quality ingredients are the key to a good risotto, a short grain Italian rice called arborio, some good white wine that you would drink yourself, and an absolute must is freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.making risotto

Have everything prepped and ready to go including a good heavy bottomed pot and of course a wooden spoon.butternut squash risotto

Before you begin you want to make sure the broth that you’re using is nice and warm and continually simmering on your stove, you never want to add cold broth to your risotto, that’s a no no!butternut squash risotto

There’s a hint of sage within the risotto, but then you top it off with crispy sage that’s been frizzled in brown butter, it gets broken up when scooping from the pot adding more delicious flavor through out.risotto with shrimp

If you want to serve a really spectacular dish, one that will impress your guests beyond and truly rival any restaurant meal, add some roasted shrimp on top, oh my!risotto with shrimp

Don’t let the whole process of making risotto intimidate you, it’s a cinch once you get the hang of it and it’s definitely worth it in the end!

Follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Butternut Squash Risotto with Crispy Sage
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled, trimmed, cut into ½ inch dice and roasted, you will need about 2 cups for this recipe, save extra for other dishes
  • 1½ cups of short grain, Italian arborio rice
  • 1 quart box organic chicken stock or veggie if you prefer, low salt or homemade if you have it
  • heaping cup or more to of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • ½ cup good white wine
  • ½ large onion, small dice
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped sage plus extra leaves to crisp up in the end
  • butter
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. PREPARING THE SQUASH
  2. Prepare your squash a day or two ahead of time. Cut off the tip and bottom. Peel the skin with a vegetable peeler then cut the squash in half crosswise where the neck meets the fatter part. Stand it up and make slices about ½ inch thick, stack the slices and continue to dice into ½ dice.
  3. Place cut squash onto a rimmed baking sheet drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper roast in a 425 degree oven, tossing gently until tender and golden and the moisture is out, it doesn't take too long, maybe 15 minutes or so, keep checking.
  4. If doing ahead of time let the squash cool down and place it into a container and refrigerate it. When ready to use just pull it out and get it to room temperature.
  5. MAKING THE RISOTTO
  6. Open your stock, place it into a saucepan and have it simmering on the stove.
  7. In a heavy bottomed pot on medium heat add 1 tablespoon of butter and a quick drizzle of olive oil.
  8. Add your diced onion and cook until soft.
  9. Add in the rice and stir with a wooden spoon, making sure to get it heated through and covered with the butter and olive oil.
  10. Deglaze with the white wine, letting it bubble and cook down until you're starting to see no moisture.
  11. Add in one ladle full of the simmered broth stirring until the liquid is absorbed, then repeat with another ladle full.
  12. Continue with the adding of broth and stirring constantly, you'll start to see the grain releasing their starch which creates the creaminess for the ultimate risotto.
  13. The rice should be slightly al'dente and not over cooked, so towards the end you'll have to taste as you go.
  14. When desired creaminess is attained remove from heat, stir in the chopped fresh sage and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano,taste for salt and pepper then gently fold in your butternut squash.
  15. in a small skillet add a ½ stick of butter, let it start to brown then throw in a handful of fresh sage leaves and let them frizzle and crisp up.
  16. Garnish your risotto with the crispy sage leaves and spoon a little of that brown butter sauce all around the top.
  17. Enjoy!

 

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AUTUMN SIDES

These are two very easy sides to make, because your oven does all the work! The hardest thing would probably be cutting up the vegetables! Preparing your veggies with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and then roasting them at 400F gives a nice carmelization to them all. And if your lucky to have a “convection roast” setting on your stove, that’s even better.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Hazelnuts, all tossed with Brown Butter and Sage. I saw this combination in a magazine and loved it ever since! I think it was shown with whole pecans, which would be equally delicious!

Brown butter and sage, is simply made by melting some butter on medium heat, tossing in some fresh sage, heat until the white milk solids turn brown, and sage is crispy.

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Acorn Squash

Taking balsamic vinegar and simmering it down until it becomes a dark, sweet rich syrup, and then pouring a generous drizzle over your squash, makes it irresistibly good!!!
Have a great day, and Buon Appetito!!

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