recipe
Ricotta and pumpkin gnocchi with burnt butter and sage
Burnt butter is an indispensable condiment in our restaurant kitchen. Its golden hue brings a unique caramelised nutty flavour and aroma that’s infatuating.
We often use it to dress gnocchi and sometimes add a splash to meat base sauces along with a few drops of lemon to enliven. We sometimes infuse a small amount into milk that we use to make one of the most delicious ice creams we have in our repertoire – burnt butter ice cream!
I have immense respect for the art of rolling and cooking gnocchi. On the surface, the apparent simplicity is deceiving. Potato and ricotta – not together but separately – are the most common base ingredients. Another derivative of gnocchi is the French version, Parisian, which bears no resemblance to the recipes that originate from Italy.
The results can be incredibly variable depending on the potato variety or type of ricotta you use.
Once you have a ratio that works for you, stick to it. I have been making gnocchi the same way for 30 years. Gnocchi is usually bound with a little flour to keep the base ingredients together. The key to a light and somewhat fluffy gnocchi is adding the smallest amount of flour needed to bind the dumpling.
With potato gnocchi my golden rule is about one third of the weight of the cooked potato to flour. For ricotta gnocchi I try to use almost no flour, depending on the type of ricotta. Ricottas that seem quite wet are perfect for a cheesecake but not for gnocchi. I usually buy ricotta from a large basket at a cheesemonger’s so I can see it has drained sufficiently.
As far as selecting the best variety of pumpkin for this particular dish, Kent is my go-to – it’s firm and has less water content than other pumpkins, which means it dries out nicely after roasting, giving a better texture for your gnocchi.
The main technical trick with this is that you literally bury the piped logs of gnocchi in semolina and refrigerate them overnight. This draws out the moisture and creates a beautiful crust on the outside while keeping the inside voluptuous and pillowy.
Time: 45 minutes preparation + 70 minutes roasting + overnight refrigeration
Serves 4-6
- 600g Kent or butternut pumpkin, seeds and skin removed, cut into large pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1kg ricotta cheese
- 50g finely grated parmesan
- 10g sea salt
- 500g fine semolina
- 200g unsalted butter
- 15 sage leaves
- 50g shaved parmesan
- 50g toasted pine nuts
- 50g raisins, soaked in hot water to soften and then drained
- black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Place the pumpkin on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 40 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the pumpkin dry in the residual heat for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Blend the roasted pumpkin in a food processor until smooth. Weigh out 200 grams of the blended pumpkin and return it to the food processor with the ricotta, grated parmesan and sea salt. Blend until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Spread the semolina evenly on a flat tray to cover the base. If you are using a disposable piping bag, cut the piping bag tip to the diameter of a 20 cent coin. Alternatively, select a nozzle of about that size. Pipe the mixture onto the semolina in long logs.
- Cover the logs completely with semolina and gently shake the tray to coat all their surfaces. Refrigerate overnight. The following day remove the logs from the fridge and, while they are still resting in the semolina, cut them into two-centimetre pieces.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer. Add the gnocchi and cook (in batches if necessary) until they float to the surface (about one minute). Transfer the cooked gnocchi to serving bowls or a large platter.
- While the dumplings are cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook until the butter turns nut-brown, stirring occasionally. As soon as the butter starts to burn and develop a sweet nutty aroma, add the sage leaves and rest for a few minutes to cook and infuse.
- Spoon the sage-infused butter over the cooked gnocchi, avoiding the browned solids at the bottom of the pan.
- Finish with the shaved parmesan, toasted pine nuts and drained raisins.
- Add a sprinkle of black pepper to taste.
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on August 23, 2025 as "Gnocchi shop".
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