Kurri Squash Gnocchi with sherry vinegar-brown butter

Ingredients

Yield:

Serves 4

• Kurri Squash Gnocchi

  • 1 ea small kurri squash or favourite squash
  • 3 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground white pepper
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 2 ea whole egg
  • 2 cup flour (will vary depending on size of squash)

• Sherry Vinegar-Brown Butter

  • 3 tbsp butter - unsalted
  • ¼ cup sherry vinegar (balsamic may also be used)
  • 2 tbsp rooftop honey (or preferred honey if you don’t have bee hives on your roof)

• Presentation Garnish

  • ¼ cup cipollini onion peddles (or julienne shallots)
  • 2 tbsp baby sage leaves or chiffonnade sage
  • ½ cup baby tomatoes – quartered
  • 1 bunch swiss chard – about 7 leafy stocks
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • to taste parmesan shards or grated
  • to taste seasoning

Preparation

Difficulty:

Medium

Time:

3 Hours 

 

1. Gnocchi

   1. preheat oven to 300F with rack located in middle of oven
   2. cut squash in half from top to bottom and scoop out seeds
   3. lightly coat cut surface with olive oil and pinch of salt, place on baking sheet cut side down
   4. using a fork or tip of a knife poke the skin multiple times to allow steam to escape
   5. roast for about 1 hour or until tender, reduce heat in oven to 150F
   6. turn squash so cut side is now facing up, leave in oven for an additional 30 minutes allowing excess moisture to evaporate
   7. scoop flesh into a bowl and mash into smooth puree, allow to cool
   8. once cool add nutmeg, salt, pepper and eggs mixing to incorporate evenly
   9. begin to add flour and mix by hand, only start with 1½ cups of the flour as it will vary depending on size of squash and may require up to 2½ cups
   10. dough should hold a shape however will still be quite soft and slightly sticky, it will be softer than standard gnocchi dough
   11. do not overwork the dough as it will become tough
   12. scrape down sides of bowl, cover bowl with plastic and allow to rest 20-30 minutes
   13. cut dough into 6 pieces, roll each piece into a long rope about 1” thick
   14. cut each rope into ¾” pieces, they can be served in this shape or shaped traditionally using a gnocchi paddle
   15. at this point they can be placed on baking sheet and into the freezer, once frozen place in ziplock bags and may be kept frozen up to 1 month
   16. to blanch, drop into a large pot of generously salted boiling water, as they begin to float remove from water placing on lightly oiled none stick baking sheet, allow to cool

2. Sherry-Brown Butter

   1. add butter to pan and place over medium heat
   2. as butter begins to foam pay close attention as it will burn quickly
   3. as butter begins to turn golden with a nutty aroma remove pan from heat adding vinegar
   4. return pan to heat allowing vinegar to reduce slightly
   5. add honey to balance acidity, additional honey may be added if preferred
   6. remove from heat keeping close at hand for final preparation

3. Final Presentation

   1. in a large frying pan add 2 TBSP of olive oil placed over medium-high heat
   2. add gnocchi to pan allowing to brown lightly
   3. as gnocchi begins to turn golden brown add onions
   4. continue cooking 1 minute or until onions soften, add swiss chard, tomato and sage removing pan from heat
   5. toss together, return to heat, begin adding sauce a bit at a time, tossing to evenly coat
   6. adjust seasoning and plate garnishing with parmesan