The world is in a strange place right now. I mean, you can’t even buy a potato, let alone toilet paper (atleast in Australia). Ordinary people are brawling in supermarkets, and while things are changing every minute, it feels like nothing is happening all at the same time. And hey, I should know, I’ve just come back from a trip to New Zealand and have to spend 14 days in precautionary self-isolation.
And so because there are no potatoes around (friends, family and the news tell me this because I can’t leave the house), I used an old pumpkin I had sitting around in the kitchen as one of those “kitchen decorations” to make this pumpkin gnocchi.
And while I’m boiling up the pumpkin, kneading the dough, I’m thinking about my Croatian grandmothers and great-grandmothers, who went through a lot worse than I will ever go through. And it comes down to one little saying, “everything is well, and everything will be better.”
And everything is well, because I still have a pumpkin! I have some flour, in over a week I’ll get to see friends, family, Easter is still happening, I have basil growing in my garden, the roses are still blooming. And I just made the best pumpkin gnocchi ever.
Covid-19 will come and go, but gnocchi is forever. And pumpkins always come in handy.
Ingredients:
- One kilo of pumpkin, outer skin peeled and seeds removed
- 40 grams of unsalted butter
- Two eggs
- 250 grams plain flour, sifted
- 10 grams salt (or to taste)
Method:
- Cut up the cleaned and seeded pumpkin into 5cm chunks and place in boiling water until cooked. This should take around 20 minutes.
- Once done, using a potato masher or ricer, mash up the pumpkin and place over a strainer to drain all the water from the mash. Leave this for about two hours to really get all that water out.
- To the cooled pumpkin, add the butter, eggs, flour and salt and stir until a firm dough forms. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
- Separate the dough into four equal parts so that it’s easier to work with.
- Roll one portion into a 1.5cm-diameter log. Use a sharp knife to cut into 2cm pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Lightly flour your hands and roll each piece of dough into a ball. Use your thumb to roll each ball over the back of a floured fork. (If this doesn’t work for you, you can make an indent with a floured finger into the centre of each dough ball. Place each one onto a lined baking tray.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over high heat. Once boiled reduce the heat to medium. Add one quarter of the gnocchi and cook until they rise to the surface of the water.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer them into a heatproof bowl. Repeat in three batches with the remaining gnocchi.
- Serve with any sauce you like! I served mine with a creamy pesto, as I had loads of basil in the garden and it was super.
Let me know if you tried these pumpkin treats and what you thought?
Dobar Tek! Zivjeli! (Bon Appetit! Cheers and let’s live!)
The Croatian Kitchen 