Seared Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Sage Butter
Pan-seared gnocchi turn golden and crisp, then get tossed with tender roasted pumpkin in a sage butter sauce finished with parmesan. A comforting one-pan dinner.
- Total
- 35 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 25
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Roasting
- Savory
- Italian
- Comforting
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C and let it come up to temperature, about 10 minutes, while you cut the pumpkin.
~10 min
-
Cut the pumpkin into 2 cm cubes, toss with the olive oil, 0.25 tsp salt and the black pepper, spread on a baking sheet and roast until tender and lightly browned at the edges, 20 to 22 minutes.
~22 min
Roasting at high heat caramelizes the pumpkin's natural sugars and drives off moisture, concentrating flavor and creating browned edges.
Roasting Cut pumpkin into even 2 cm cubes and spread them in a single layer with space between; crowding steams the pieces instead of browning them.
-
While step 2 cooks
While the pumpkin roasts, melt 10 g butter in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi in a single layer and cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until golden and crisp on the outside, 8 to 10 minutes.
~10 min
A single layer and minimal stirring maximize contact with the hot pan, so the gnocchi develop a crisp, golden crust instead of steaming.
Let the gnocchi sit undisturbed for the first two minutes in the pan so a golden crust forms before you start stirring.
Searing Pat gnocchi dry and leave them undisturbed in a hot pan so a golden crust forms; moving them too early steams them and they stick.
-
Push the gnocchi to one side of the pan, lower the heat to medium and add the remaining 20 g butter. Once it foams, add the sage leaves and cook until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 1 minute.
~1 min
Butter foams when the water evaporates and milk solids brown; adding sage then infuses the fat and crisps the leaves without burning.
Tear the sage leaves rather than chopping them; they stay tender and release less bitterness in the butter.
-
Add the roasted pumpkin to the pan with the gnocchi and sage butter, season with the remaining 0.25 tsp salt and toss gently to coat. Grate the parmesan over the top and serve straight from the pan.
~1 min