Gnocchi di Zucca

Small sugar pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 ½ cups parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
½ pound mushrooms
10-15 sage leaves, chopped

Cut a small sugar pumpkin in half and bake, flesh side down, for about 30-40 minutes at 350 or until soft. Scrape out pumpkin and put in a colander to drain. When cool and drained, mash until smooth.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, mix together salt, nutmeg, and 1½ cups flour. Pour onto large board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and place pumpkin and Parmesan cheese in the well. Knead the flour gently into the pumpkin just until mixed. It should still be a little sticky (if too sticky, add a little more flour).

Cut the dough into six pieces. Using one piece at a time, make a “snake” from the dough, rolling it in a little flour.

Cut into ½ inch pieces and drop the pieces into the boiling water. They will fall to the bottom of the pan and then pop up to the surface. When they rise to the surface, remove them with a skimming ladle. Put in a dish and repeat until all the gnocchi are made.

Brown mushrooms and sage in butter in a large pan. Add gnocchi to pan and heat through.

Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve.

Source

Pumpkin and sage risotto

4 small pumpkins
20g (1oz) butter
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
300g (10½oz) risotto rice
1 glass dry white wine
4 finely chopped sage leaves
1ltr (1¾pt) chicken stock
80g (3oz) Parmesan, grated
20g (1oz) butter
8 sage leaves to garnish

Cut lids from the pumpkins, discard the seeds and cut the flesh into cubes. Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan, add the onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook until soft. Add the risotto rice and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Add the white wine, pumpkin and chopped sage leaves. Stir well to combine.

Gradually add 1 ladle at a time of hot chicken stock, stirring after each ladle, adding the next one only when the liquid is almost absorbed. Continue until the rice is al dente and the pumpkin is soft (about 20 minutes).

Season and stir in the Parmesan. Spoon the risotto into the pumpkin 'bowls' and garnish with sage leaves fried in butter, Parmesan shavings and a twist of black pepper.

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