Butternut squash and yam gnocchi, cooked in white wine and vegan butter, with nutmeg and fresh sage! Do I have your attention yet? I should, because this dish is by far a new fall favorite in my house.
Please look past the ugly shape of my dumplings. Trust me— it’s the taste and not the looks that makes this dish to die for. I have a confession: This was my first time ever making homemade gnocchi, thus the awkwardness of their appearance. I had high hopes for this dish, which is why I decided to take pictures along the way, but part of me thought I’d be too lucky to get it right on the first try.
When I had them in the skillet, I figured regardless of how good they tasted, there was no way I could use it for a post. They were just too poorly shaped. But once I got them on the plate, I knew as long as they tasted as yummy as they looked and sounded, that I had to do it. Funny shaped or not, they were still beautiful!
My first steps in making these were to roast the squash and boil the potato. I was lazy when it came to the squash and bought a package of it already peeled, diced, and ready to go. The package had 15 ounces, so whether you take the easy route like me, or buy a whole squash and do the prep yourself, you’ll want to make sure that’s how much you end up with.
I spread the cubes of butternut squash on a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzled them with olive oil, and then tossed them all to make sure each piece was covered. These then went in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes. You want them cooked until nicely soft. I actually went to toss them and was surprised to find they were ready. Sometimes it’s taken longer for me however, so know it may take up to 25 minutes.
The yam I peeled, cut into large cubes and boiled until soft. Alternatively, you could cut them smaller and roast it with the squash, but I assume it may take a little longer. Either way, like the squash, you’ll want it completely soft. I didn’t use the entire potato, but measured out one packed cup after cooking.
Once the squash and yam were ready to go, I placed them in the food processor with brown rice flour, one flax egg made from golden flax meal, vegan parmesan, salt, pepper, and a little cayenne. I mixed theses until completely smooth and combined. If the squash seems too sticky, you can add a bit more flour.
To form the gnocchi, I first covered a large cutting board with plastic wrap, dusted with more flour. I scooped out about a sixth of the dough and transferred it onto the plastic wrap. Next, I sprinkled the top and the sides of the dough with flour, wrapped the plastic wrap around the dough, and started to roll and mold the dough into a long, snake-like form, about the width of a penny. I continued to make these “snakes” with the rest of the dough, until I finally ran out.
Next, I cut each “snake” into many pieces, about a half inch wide, and finally, I pressed each with a fork to try and resemble classic gnocchi. Were my gnocchi pretty when I was done forming them all? Nope! Did it matter in the end? Nope, nope!
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water. Once they float to the top they’re ready. This only took a few minutes, and I scooped them out with a slotted spoon.
I ended up with 80 small dumplings, and honestly, some were probably a little bigger than they needed to be. I boiled all of these, but only continued with half for the rest of the recipe. The other half I saved for later use. They can be easily frozen to use at another time. Alternatively, you can double the portions for the veggies and sauce, if you’re cooking for more people. We ate about 10 to 15 gnocchi each.
For the sauce… You’ll start by adding a cup of dry white wine to a large skillet heated at medium high. When the wine is reduced by half, you’ll add the vegan butter, garlic, and red onion. Once the onion starts looking soft, you want to add the mushrooms, sage, nutmeg, and coconut sugar. Now you’ll place a lid to your skillet and turn the heat down.
When the mushrooms look like they’re getting close to being soft, add the gnocchi, sprinkle with salt and pepper, replace the lid, and cook for another 5 minutes. Next you’re going to remove the lid and turn the heat back up. After a couple minutes, flip all the gnocchi, and cook for two more minutes on the other side. Now you have a beautiful, fall, Italian style dish to serve and devour! Yum!
The flavors in this dish were exactly what I’d been craving and really hit the spot. Like I’d said, since it was my first time ever making gnocchi, I didn’t necessarily plan on using it for a post, but they turned out just so darned good! I hope you enjoy these just as much as we did in my home. If so, take a pic and tag me on Instagram @veggiesattiffanis.
Fall into Gnocchi
Ingredients
For the gnocchi...
- 15 oz cubed butternut squash
- 1 small-medium yam peeled and cut into large chunks (or 1 packed cup mashed yam)
- olive oil for drizzling
- 1 golden flax egg (1 tbsp golden flax meal + 3 tbsp water — let sit for 5 min)
- 2 1/2 cups brown rice flour plus a good amount more for dusting when molding dough
- 1/4 cup vegan parmesan (optional), I used Follow Your Heart Parmesan Style Shredded Cheese Alternative
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
For the sauce...
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) vegan butter ensure nut or soy-free is necessary
- 1/2 red onion sliced and cut into 1" long pieces
- 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 1/2 cups white mushrooms sliced
- 1 Tbsp fresh sage chopped
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and start a pot of water to boil. Spread out the butternut squash onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Toss squash so all is cover with the oil. Once oven is preheated and water is boiling, put your squash in the oven and your yam pieces in the boiling water. Cook both until soft, about 15 - 25 minutes. If squash isn't soft after 15 minutes, flip over before continuing to roast.
- Mash 1 packed cup yam into a measuring cup and add to the food processor along with the squash and all remaining gnocchi ingredients. Mix until smooth and fully incorporated. If dough seems too sticky, you can add a little more flour.
- Lay a sheet of plastic wrap down onto your cutting board and sprinkle with brown rice flour. Spoon about a sixth of the dough onto the plastic wrap, and sprinkle the dough with more flour. I then wrapped it all with the plastic wrap, and rolled and molded the dough into a long snake like figure, about the width of a penny. Repeat with the rest of your dough, making approximately 6 "snakes," sprinkling with more flour as needed.
- Cut each "snake" into pieces about a 1/2 inch long (the width will probably widen when sliced, that's okay). Press the top of each with a fork to shape lines into the top. This is done in gnocchi to help the sauce stay on each piece.
- Start a large pot of water to boil and once boiling add gnocchi. When the dumplings start to rise to the top, scoop them each out with a slotted spoon. Unless, doubling the ingredients for the sauce, set aside half the gnocchi to freeze once cool.
- In a large skillet, set to medium high heat, add the white wine and cook until reduced by half. Next add the "butter," garlic and onion to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is almost completely soft.
- Add the mushrooms, sage, coconut sugar, and nutmeg. Place a lid on your skillet and turn heat down to medium low. When mushrooms are almost completely soft, add the gnocchi to the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, for 5 more minutes.
- Remove lid and turn heat back up to medium high. Cook for about 2 minutes. Flip over all pieces of gnocchi and cook for two more minutes on the opposite side. Remove from heat and serve.