Well, here it is folks. The most amazing dish I have ever made. I know it doesn't look like much, but what it lacks in size and fanciness, it more than makes up for in it's incredibly texture and flavor.
So, here we go. This is a list of ingredients you will need for the most amazing dish of all time.
By the way, this is a Chef John recipe. I did not create it.
2 cups cooked butternut squash
1 cup mascarpone cheese
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (but since that stuff is crazy expensive and we're poor, I settled for store bought grated Parmesan. It worked fine, but I highly recommend the good stuff)
1 packed cup all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter for frying, used in batches-not all at once
cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste
1/4 cup sliced sage leaves (I used dried because that's what I had)
As you can see I made a couple substitutions so it just goes to show you, cooking isn't science. It's art. Make it however you want. Recipes are really just guidelines.
First step is to cook the squash. Trim the top off and cut it in half leaving the bulbous, seedy part alone. We only need two cups and no one likes seeding squash unless it's Halloween. Now, you're going to take that and split that in half and lay those down, middles exposed, on a plate and place Saran wrap on top and make a seal as best you can. Then microwave them on high until tender (about 8 minutes). Let those cool before you handle them or you will loose your fingerprints. At this point the skin should just peel right off and now you have perfectly cooked butternut squash to which you could add butter and whatever spices strike your fancy or you could continue to make this amazing dish.....
In a medium to large bowl mix the mascarpone, eggs, salt, and Parmesan until just combined. Add your squash and whisk. You want to see those partials from the squash so don't fret about getting it super smooth.
Finally add the flour one half cup at a time mixing between the additions.
Batter's done! Wrap the bowl in plastic and let it sit over night. This will help firm it up and make it much easier to make our little dumplings.
To cook the gnocchi, you will need to bring water to a simmer in a large pot and on medium heat, melt butter on a frying pan. Form your dumplings by taking a teaspoon sized dollop on one spoon and scraping/ cradling it with another into the simmering water. You can do this in batches on 8-15 depending on how large you pot is, but you want enough room to let each dumpling surface. Let those sit in there until they float to the top (1-2 minutes) and let them boil about one more minute. Use a slotted spoon to fish them out and place on the frying pan with butter. Turn your heat up to medium-high and just brown them in the butter (3-4 minutes per side). This is when you get to be really creative with your spices. Salt, pepper, cayenne. When you feel like they are nice and brown on the bottom, flip them over. While they are cooking on that side, throw in some thinly sliced sage leaves (totally brings out the flavor- if you don't have fresh sage use dried).
Serve hot and with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan.
I like to eat these as a full on meal, but they are great as appetizers, side dishes, what have you.
Definately try this. Let me know how you liked it and how it turned out.
Enjoy!
