Pumpkin & Chestnut Gnocchi with Spinach & Chanterelles
There are days when we really don’t need to eat meat, fish, potatoes or any other conventional meal. Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi with the tang of spinach, nutty crunch of Chestnuts and gorgeous Chanterelle mushrooms are an irresistible combination.
Ingredients For 4
For the Gnocchi
600g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
100g plain flour
60g hard cheese, finely grated
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the rest
80g butter
A few sage leaves
50g peeled, cooked sweet chestnuts, chopped
100g chanterelle mushrooms
150g baby spinach leaves
Method
Put the pumpkin and garlic into an ovenproof dish, coat with oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated oven at 180c for 25 minutes.
Put the cooked pumpkin to a food processor and blitz to a puree then transfer to a non-stick saucepan over a moderate heat, bring to the boil, reduce until very thick.
Scrape the puree into a large mixing bowl, make a well in the middle, stir in the egg. Mix the flour with the grated cheese and nutmeg, sprinkle about half of this onto the pumpkin, then knead to form dough. Keep kneading, adding the flour mix until it is dry and holds firm.
Sprinkle some extra flour onto the work surface, form the dough into even diameter cylindrical lengths, cut into 3cm pieces
Bring a large pan of salted water up to the boil over a moderate heat. Cook the gnocchi, a few at a time, by gently lowering them in and out of the water with a slotted spoon. They will float when they are cooked, approximately 2 minutes per batch.
To finish the dish, heat the butter in a heavy based pan over a moderate heat.
Fry the chestnuts and sage leaves, lift them out of the pan and set aside.
Add the mushrooms to the pan, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Now add the gnocchi to heat through for another 2-3 minutes. Finally stir in the spinach leaves, cook for 1 minute until wilted
Toss the mixture together; serve immediately with crispy sage leaves and chestnuts on top.
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