News flash: I actually felt a little chilly sleeping with the fan next to my face, last night. It looks like San Diego might just be giving into the arrival of Fall. Although it was still perfect beach weather, I thought I’d steal this opportunity to make a lovely Autumn dish.
My brother, Mike, was staying with me for the weekend so it was the perfect time to go all Fall “gourmet”. Him and I have the same love for all things pumpkin, so you better believe that we shared our meal with pumpkin ale, followed by pumpkin ice cream for dessert.
Making gnocchi really brings me back to my days studying abroad in Italy. I did some hands on pasta-making and gnocchi-making that would yield the most delicious results. These doughy little pillows definitely did not disappoint, even though they were prepared in another timezone.
First, get the butternut squash roasting. Peel and dice the butternut squash into 1/2-inch or slightly smaller cubes. Transfer to a foil covered sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper and lightly toss to cover; then, lay out in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. During the last 8 minutes or so of cooking, add the chopped (pre-cooked) chicken sausage to heat through.
Next up, the gnocchi. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Yes, you will be mixing this together with your bare hands. Once you cook, peel and mash the sweet potato, place it on top of a pile of flour, then shape a moat for the egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and honey goat cheese. Knead it about 20 times to incorporate all of the ingredients, adding more flour if needed to make the dough less sticky.
Form your gnocchi dough into a ball and slightly flatten it by pressing down. Divide into four equal portions. Working with one at a time, roll into a long 1-inch wide rope and cut into 3/4 to 1-inch pieces. They don’t have to be perfect. Roll each piece with a fork, slightly pressing the tines into the dough while rolling, doing the same to the other side. Making these little marks helps trap delicious sauce so each bite of gnocchi is packed with flavor 
!
The sauce is simple. Simple and delicious. Melt the butter, and let it start foaming, add the shallot and sage. Keep an eye on it as it starts to brown, as soon as it starts to darken in color, remove from heat and add the olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste. The sage leaves should be fried and the brown butter will smell good and nutty.
While the sauce is going, boil the gnocchi in salted water for about 3 minutes. Don’t overcrowd the water; only add 1/3 of the batch at once.When they rise to the surface they are done cooking. With a slotted spoon, remove them from the boiling water and add straight into the finished sage brown butter sauce.
Bring it all together by placing a handful of fresh arugula on a plate, followed by the roasted thyme butternut squash and chicken sausage, and lastly topped with a heaping spoonful of gnocchi and sage brown butter sauce. The arugula will be slightly wilted from the heat of the squash and gnocchi, but will still retain a peppery crunch, providing a unique texture to this gnocchi dish.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi & Roasted Butternut Squash
{Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage Browned Butter Sauce, Thyme Roasted Butternut Squash and Chicken Sausage served over Arugula}
Serves 5-6
Ingredients for Thyme Roasted Butternut Squash with Chicken Sausage & Arugula
Butternut squash (3-4 cups), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 Tbsp Thyme, stems removed
Chicken sausage (we used the Smoked Apple Chardonnay kind from TJs)
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Arugula
Directions: First, get the butternut squash roasting. Peel and dice the butternut squash into 1/2-inch or slightly smaller cubes. Transfer to a foil covered sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper and lightly toss to cover and lay out in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. During the last 8 minutes of cooking add the chopped (pre-cooked) chicken sausage to heat through. Prepare gnocchi and sauce while this is roasting.
Ingredients for the Sweet Potato Gnocchi:
1 lb sweet potato (about I large potato or two small/medium)
1 3/4 cup flour (we used white whole wheat)
1 large egg
3 oz. honey goat cheese, softened (or another mild goat cheese)
Dash nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Directions: Once you cook, peel and mash the sweet potato, place it on top of a pile of flour, then shape a moat for the egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and goat cheese. Knead it about 20 times to incorporate all of the ingredients, adding more flour if needed to make the dough less sticky.
Form your gnocchi dough into a ball and slightly flatten it by pressing down. Divide into four equal portions. Working with one at a time, roll into a long 1-inch wide rope and cut into 3/4 to 1-inch pieces. They don’t have to be perfect. Roll each piece with a fork, slightly pressing the tines into the dough while rolling, doing the same to the other side. Making these little marks helps trap delicious sauce so each bite of gnocchi is packed with flavor.
While the sauce is going, boil the gnocchi in salted water for about 3 minutes. Don’t overcrowd the water; only add 1/3 of the batch at once.When they rise to the surface they are done cooking. With a slotted spoon, remove them from the boiling water and add straight into the finished sage brown butter sauce.
Ingredients for the Sage Browned Butter Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 small shallot, diced into small pieces
20 leaves of sage
Dash of pepper
Dash of salt, to taste
Directions: Melt the butter and let it start to foam, then add the shallot and sage. Keep an eye on it as it starts to brown, as soon as it starts to darken in color, remove from heat and add the olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste. The sage leaves should be fried and the brown butter will smell good and nutty.
Bring this dish all together by placing a handful of fresh arugula on a plate, followed by the roasted thyme butternut squash and chicken sausage, and lastly topped with a heaping spoonful of gnocchi and sage brown butter sauce. The arugula will be slightly wilted from the heat of the squash and gnocchi, but will still retain a peppery crunch, providing a unique texture to a gnocchi dish.
