Dark Days Challenge: Pumpkin Gnocchi

More fun with pumpkin. And dough!
So that extra pumpkin that got roasted when I made soup the other day is destined for pasta. The only thing better in the winter than soup is pasta.

PUMPKIN GNOCCHI WITH BROWN BUTTER AND HAZELNUTS
 Like making bread, the amount of flour used is going to vary. How much moisture is in the air? How much moisture is in your pumpkin? How much liquid do you get from 4 eggs anyway? Like making bread or pie crust, the more you do it, the better feel you get for it. And even if it doesn't come out just right, homemade bread, pie crust and pasta is still awesome.

Ingredients ( non-local items in italics)

Roasted pumpkin, approx 4 c
All purpose flour, 2-5 c
Large eggs, 4
Olive oil, 4 Tbls
Salt, 1 1/2 tsp
Butter
Toasted hazelnuts, crushed


Take the roasted pumpkin out of the refrigerator & let come to room temperature. Trust me, it is much more pleasant to work with! You want to get the pumpkin into sort of a puree type paste. A ricer would probably work fantastic here but alas, I don't have one so I used the trusty immersion blender to get rid of any large chunks and worked it down a bit with two forks. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, like pumpkin pie filling (blech). Let's call it rustic.

 In a very large bowl, mix together 4c pumpkin, 3 c flour and the salt. Add the eggs and olive oil and mix well. I usually start out with a fork & end up using my hands. I'm a gal without a KitchenAid mixer.

Anyway, you want to end up with a soft but not sticky dough. Add flour a little bit at a time. Don't end up with an overly stiff dough like I did.

No biggie; I just added a bit more olive oil & a few flecks of water. Less flour would have let the roasted pumpkin shine through, though. Next time.

Lightly dust counter top & hands with floor. Scoop out a bit of dough & cover remainder. Roll into a long log, finger thick, and slice into 1 inch pieces. I just used fork tines to make pretty little ridges but you could really skip that all together. Repeat with remaining dough.

This makes a fair amount of gnocchi but they freeze beautifully. Lightly dust a cookie sheet or two with flour so the gnocchi doesn't stick, and place them on the sheets without touching one another. Pop in the freezer long enough that they harden a bit and then they can be stored in a baggie or container in the freezer.

To serve:
Drop handful of gnocchi at a time in salted boiling water. They will rise to the top of the pot when cooked; just scoop them out with a slotted spoon. In the meantime, brown a bit of butter in a pan until it begins to darken & smell nutty. Remove from heat, add chopped toasted hazelnuts, and toss with cooked gnocchi.

(Sometimes I cheat & toss the gnocchi into the frying pan with the browned butter. Just enough that it blisters & crisps the outside. No one else likes it this way - that's ok, more for me. Also, a handful of fresh chopped sage tossed into the browned butter is amazing.)