It is pumpkin time and today I would like to talk about it by presenting my gnocchi made with a dough based on durum wheat semolina and pumpkin, seasoned with mushroom béchamel. Pumpkin is a vegetable that can be used and cooked in many different ways. There are different types. Not having the “mantovana” type pumpkin, which is drier and therefore more suitable for making gnocchi, I used the one typical of my area, the “long” one from Naples, but I still obtained an excellent result and managed to prepare very soft gnocchi, which held up both the cooking in water and in the oven, without becoming mushy. This is just one way to enjoy this wonder of nature. It is a preparation suitable for Sunday lunch, colorful, cheerful, and not overly heavy. The pumpkin, béchamel, and gnocchi can be prepared in advance, even the day before, and then cooked and assembled into the final dish when needed.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 5 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
- 1.75 lbs Pumpkin flesh
- 2.33 cups Re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 1 pinch Fine salt
- 3 cups Milk
- 3 tbsps Butter
- 1/3 cup All-purpose flour
- to taste Fine salt
- to taste Pepper
- to taste Nutmeg
- 7 oz Mixed mushrooms, fresh or frozen
- 3 tbsps Grated cheese
Preparation
Let’s start by preparing the pumpkin. In a large pot, put the pumpkin cut into chunks and cover with a bit of water.
Cook over low heat until the pumpkin becomes tender.When it becomes soft, drain it well and blend it.
Put the puree back in the pot (without the cooking water) and, over low heat, let it dry for about ten minutes, stirring continuously to prevent it from sticking to the pot or burning (if you use the “mantovana” type pumpkin, cut it into large pieces, place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper, in the middle of the oven, at 350°F and bake for about 30 minutes or until you notice it is tender and dry enough to be mashed or blended).
Let’s prepare the dough for the gnocchi
Transfer the pumpkin puree to a bowl, add a generous pinch of salt and the semolina, a little at a time.The amount of semolina absorbed depends on the quality of the pumpkin and may need a bit more or less; that’s why I recommend adding it little by little.
Knead with your hands until you reach the right consistency, which is a soft dough, very easy to work with, but compact; it’s ready when it no longer sticks to your hands. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms and cut them into pieces. Transfer them to a non-stick pot, over low heat, cover, and let them lose part of their water content (step to be done only if using fresh mushrooms).
Let’s prepare the béchamel as described here. After adding the cold milk to the butter and flour roux, add the mushrooms, salt, nutmeg, and bring our béchamel to cooking.
Let’s form the gnocchi. After half an hour, dust the work surface with a little flour, break off pieces from the dough and roll them into sticks to cut into pieces of the same size (for even cooking). Using the back of a grater, the tines of a fork, or the special tool to groove the pasta, decorate our gnocchi with great delicacy.
Bring plenty of salted water to a boil, cook the gnocchi a few at a time, until they are all done. Drain them very well, I recommend.
For cooking the gnocchi, you can proceed in this way: as soon as they rise to the surface, taste them, and if they are well cooked, even in the center, drain them; otherwise, leave them for a few more seconds (the cooking time depends on their size).
Turn on the oven to 400°F. Put some mushroom béchamel on the bottom of the baking dish. When all the gnocchi are cooked, mix them well with the remaining béchamel and transfer everything to the baking dish, add some grated parmesan and into the oven, in the lower part, for about 15/20 minutes or until a nice golden crust forms.
