The baked gnocchi with pumpkin cream is a delectable and easy-to-make first course. They are made with potato gnocchi that are blanched and then seasoned with a pumpkin cream, béchamel sauce, and smoked scamorza cheese. To make this dish even more indulgent, we pour the gnocchi into a baking dish and cook them in the oven. This way, the surface becomes crispy and gratinated, hiding a creamy and gooey heart of gnocchi!
A first course with typical autumn and winter colors and flavors, really easy to prepare and quite quick. The pumpkin cooks quickly in a pot, or, if you prefer, you can bake it in the oven or cook it in an air fryer. To make the cream, simply blend it with the béchamel sauce that we prepare in just over 5 minutes. To speed up the process, we used ready-made potato gnocchi, but you can make potato gnocchi at home or try other variations of gnocchi, such as those made with pumpkin pulp, or alternatively with ricotta or chickpeas. And with the same seasoning, we can also use pasta or rice. This is the basic version we propose, but you can make many other variations by adding crumbled sausage, diced cooked ham, or speck, and other cheeses besides smoked scamorza, such as mozzarella.
The preparation is very simple: blend the cooked pumpkin with the béchamel sauce and season the gnocchi with this cream. Add the smoked provola cheese and pour into a baking dish. Finish with grated Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes at 392°F.
The baked gnocchi with pumpkin cream are excellent hot and gooey, and they are also delicious when warm. Like the pumpkin parmigiana, they can be prepared well in advance, stored in the fridge, and cooked when needed, or even frozen. Try them and let us know what you think.
Also discover:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients to prepare baked gnocchi with pumpkin cream
- 1.1 lbs potato gnocchi
- 1.5 lbs pumpkin
- 7 oz smoked scamorza cheese
- 1.8 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- butter
- 2 cups milk
- 1.8 oz flour
- 1.8 oz butter
- nutmeg
- salt
- pepper
Tools to prepare baked gnocchi with pumpkin cream
- 3 Pots
- Hand whisk
- Colander
- 1 Baking dish
- 1 Oven
How to prepare baked gnocchi with pumpkin cream
Prepare the baked gnocchi with pumpkin cream by cleaning the pumpkin, cutting it into cubes, and placing it in a saucepan with olive oil. Cook it by adding a cup of water for about 10-15 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, prepare the béchamel: melt the butter in a pot and add the flour. Stir with a whisk.
Gradually pour in the hot milk while continuing to stir and season with salt and nutmeg.
Continue cooking the béchamel, always stirring to prevent lumps until it becomes thick.
Add the béchamel to the pumpkin and blend with an immersion blender to obtain a smooth and homogeneous cream.
Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water until they float to the surface.
Drain them and season with the pumpkin cream.
Dice the smoked scamorza cheese and add it to the gnocchi, mixing well with a spoon.
Pour the gnocchi into a buttered baking dish and level the surface.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes at 392°F until the surface is well gratinated.
Serve the baked gnocchi with pumpkin cream hot or warm.
Storage, Tips, and Variations
You can store the gnocchi in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container, or alternatively, freeze them.
You can replace smoked scamorza with white scamorza or mozzarella.
For a vegetarian version, you can omit the cheese or replace it with vegan cheeses, and substitute the milk in the béchamel with an unsweetened plant-based drink such as almond or rice milk. For the butter, you can use margarine or olive oil.
You can add crumbled sausage, diced cooked ham, or speck.
With the pumpkin cream and béchamel, you can also make a delicious gratinated baked pasta or baked rice.
