Kitchen Adventures; Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi

I've been looking for an excuse to cook with pumpkin. Since Halloween is basically happening all around us (all grown up celebrations were this Saturday and all the kiddos will be out on Wednesday), I may or may not have been lazily scouring the net when I found a recipe for Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi.

I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but I lost my keys. They're somewhere in the house, but I have no clue where. That means I've been using spares for over a week. It also means that I don't have a key to the office right now. So on Friday, when I got to work before everyone else and couldn't get in, I decided to make a quick run to the nearest grocery store for some not-so-essentials. I came back to work with half gallon of milk, 4 miniature pumpkins, 5 bananas, a pack of Starbucks Via that was 50% off, and a tub of ricotta. 

I totally bought the ricotta specifically so I could make this recipe. I never just buy ricotta to buy ricotta. I always have something in mind.

I was astonished by how easy this recipe is. 

Put the pumpkin, ricotta, eggs, salt, and parmesan into a bowl. 

Mix it all up, then add the flour.

Then keep adding flour...

Until it looks something like this and is less sticky

Roll them out 

Cut them into pieces

Mark them up with a fork

Get ready to boil them

Pull them out with a slotted spoon when they start to float.

Brown your butter and then fry them up with some sage. Serve.

I told you. Easy. Your mind is blown. 

Adapted from SimplyRecipes

1 c. pureed pumpkin

1 c. ricotta (whole milk is best)

2 eggs

2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

3-4 c. flour 

3 tsp. fresh sage

1/4 c. butter

In a bowl, combine pumpkin, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, and salt. I used a whisk to get all the chunks of cheese blended in. You do whatever you want to get it smooth. 

Mix in 2 cups of flour. Then add more flour 1/2 cup at a time until it is lost enough of its stickiness that you can shape it a little bit. 

Take a minute to get pot of water on the stove and start heating, add a little salt. 

Grab about 1/8 of the dough (it doesn't have to be perfect) and roll it out into a long skinny rope.

Repeat 7 more times or until the dough is all rolled into ropes. 

Using a fork, cut each rope up into bite size pieces - about the width of your fork. Then go around and press your fork into each of the dumplings. This gives your sauce something to grab onto and it looks prettier. Feel free to skip this step if you want. 

Your water should be boiling. Grab a 10 to 15 dumplings and put them in the boiling water. When they start to float, pull them out with a slotted spoon or sieve. 

When you fry the dumplings, you'll want each one laying on the bottom of the pan. So, divide your butter into equal pieces to match the number of batches you'll need to fry all of the dumplings. I did this in two batches in a 12" skillet. 

Just before serving, melt one piece of butter on the stove. After it froths up, it will start to brown. This is when you add your dumplings. Make sure each one it touching the bottom of the pan. Throw on some fresh sage. Let them hang out on the stove for about a minute and a half so the bottom gets a little crunchy. Toss to evenly coat in brown butter & sage, and repeat. 

Serve!