Pumpkin Gnocchi with Maple Brown Butter, Crispy Sage & Pepitas
Soft pumpkin gnocchi, browned at the edges and tossed in nutty butter with crisp sage, toasted pepitas and just enough maple to make the pumpkin taste more like itself. It feels like October without trying too hard.
- Prep
- 40 minutes
- Cook
- 20 minutes
- Total
- 1 hour
- Serves
- 4
What You'll Need
For the Pumpkin Gnocchi
- 1 cup pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling
- 3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus up to 1/4 cup more as needed and additional for dusting
For the Maple Brown Butter
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 18 to 20 fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup raw pepitas
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Large pot
- Mixing bowl
- 2 sheet pans or large trays
- Bench scraper or sharp knife
- Slotted spoon
The Simple Method
Dry the Pumpkin
Spoon the pumpkin purée into a wide skillet and cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
You aren’t trying to brown it. You’re simply cooking away some of the excess moisture.
When it’s noticeably thicker and begins pulling away from the pan, transfer it to a mixing bowl and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
Make the Dough
Add the ricotta, egg yolk, Parmesan, nutmeg and salt to the cooled pumpkin and stir until combined.
Add 1 3/4 cups flour and gently fold just until a soft dough forms.
The dough should be tender and slightly tacky, not wet.
If it’s too sticky to handle, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Use only what you need.
Do not knead it like bread dough. The less you work it, the lighter the gnocchi will be.
Test One
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a gentle boil.
Pinch off a small piece of dough, shape it into a little dumpling and drop it into the water.
When it floats, give it another 30 to 45 seconds, then taste it.
If it holds together and feels tender, your dough is ready.
If it begins to fall apart, gently fold another tablespoon or two of flour into the dough and test again.
Shape the Gnocchi
Lightly flour your work surface.
Divide the dough into four portions and gently roll each into a rope about 3/4 inch thick.
Cut into approximately 1-inch pillows.
You can leave them beautifully simple or lightly roll each over the back of a fork for ridges.
Transfer to lightly floured trays in a single layer.
Toast the Pepitas
Wipe out the skillet and place it over medium heat.
Add the pepitas and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and beginning to pop.
Transfer to a small bowl and season with a tiny pinch of salt.
Brown the Butter + Crisp the Sage
Add the butter to the skillet over medium heat.
Once it melts and begins to foam, add the sage leaves.
Cook until the sage is crisp, then lift the leaves onto a small plate.
Continue swirling the butter until the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and smell nutty.
Remove the skillet from the heat.
Carefully stir in the maple syrup.
Start with the full tablespoon, but remember: this is not meant to become a sweet sauce. The maple should sit quietly behind the brown butter.
Cook the Gnocchi
Working in batches, lower the gnocchi into the gently boiling salted water.
Stir once so they don’t settle on the bottom.
When they float to the surface, cook for another 30 to 45 seconds.
Transfer them directly to the brown-butter skillet with a slotted spoon.
Before draining the pot, reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
Bring It Together
Return the skillet to medium heat.
Let the gnocchi sit against the pan for a minute or two so some of the edges become lightly golden.
Add the lemon juice and about 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water.
Gently toss until the brown butter becomes glossy and lightly coats the gnocchi rather than pooling underneath them.
Add another splash of cooking water if needed.
Fold in the 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Taste before adding more salt.
The Good Part
Spoon the gnocchi into warm shallow bowls.
Scatter generously with the toasted pepitas and crispy sage.
Finish with Parmesan, freshly cracked black pepper and just a few flakes of sea salt.
Serve immediately.
A Few Things That Make This Easier
Dry the pumpkin first.
Pumpkin carries a surprising amount of water. Cooking some of it away means you’ll need less flour, which helps keep the gnocchi tender.
Don’t chase a perfectly dry dough.
A soft, slightly tacky dough is what you want. Adding flour until it feels like pasta dough will give you heavy gnocchi.
Make the test gnocchi.
It takes two minutes and can save the entire batch.
Use pure pumpkin.
Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices and will throw off both the dough and the finished flavor.
Watch the butter, not the clock.
You’re looking for golden-brown milk solids and a nutty aroma. Brown butter can move from perfect to burnt quickly.
Keep the maple quiet.
The tablespoon is there to round out the pumpkin and browned butter, not make the dish taste sugary.
It’s the moment the sage hits the butter.
The kitchen suddenly smells different.
The butter is beginning to brown, the leaves curl at their edges, and whatever kind of day it was five minutes earlier starts to feel a little more like dinner.
There are recipes we make because everyone needs to eat.
And then there are recipes that make an ordinary night feel like something is happening.
This is one of those.
Put the bowls on the table while everything is still warm.
Let someone steal a crispy sage leaf.
Leave the pan on the stove until later.
October doesn’t need much more than that.
More from the Kitchen
Hidden & Seen
Pumpkin Gnocchi with Maple Brown Butter, Crispy Sage & Pepitas
Soft pumpkin gnocchi, browned at the edges and tossed in nutty butter with crisp sage, toasted pepitas and just enough maple to make the pumpkin taste more like itself. It feels like October without trying too hard.
- Prep
- 40 minutes
- Cook
- 20 minutes
- Total
- 1 hour
- Servings
- 4
What You'll Need
For the Pumpkin Gnocchi
- 1 cup pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling
- 3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus up to 1/4 cup more as needed and additional for dusting
For the Maple Brown Butter
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 18 to 20 fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup raw pepitas
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Large pot
- Mixing bowl
- 2 sheet pans or large trays
- Bench scraper or sharp knife
- Slotted spoon
The Simple Method
01 · Dry the Pumpkin
Spoon the pumpkin purée into a wide skillet and cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
You aren’t trying to brown it. You’re simply cooking away some of the excess moisture.
When it’s noticeably thicker and begins pulling away from the pan, transfer it to a mixing bowl and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
02 · Make the Dough
Add the ricotta, egg yolk, Parmesan, nutmeg and salt to the cooled pumpkin and stir until combined.
Add 1 3/4 cups flour and gently fold just until a soft dough forms.
The dough should be tender and slightly tacky, not wet.
If it’s too sticky to handle, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Use only what you need.
Do not knead it like bread dough. The less you work it, the lighter the gnocchi will be.
03 · Test One
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a gentle boil.
Pinch off a small piece of dough, shape it into a little dumpling and drop it into the water.
When it floats, give it another 30 to 45 seconds, then taste it.
If it holds together and feels tender, your dough is ready.
If it begins to fall apart, gently fold another tablespoon or two of flour into the dough and test again.
04 · Shape the Gnocchi
Lightly flour your work surface.
Divide the dough into four portions and gently roll each into a rope about 3/4 inch thick.
Cut into approximately 1-inch pillows.
You can leave them beautifully simple or lightly roll each over the back of a fork for ridges.
Transfer to lightly floured trays in a single layer.
05 · Toast the Pepitas
Wipe out the skillet and place it over medium heat.
Add the pepitas and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and beginning to pop.
Transfer to a small bowl and season with a tiny pinch of salt.
06 · Brown the Butter + Crisp the Sage
Add the butter to the skillet over medium heat.
Once it melts and begins to foam, add the sage leaves.
Cook until the sage is crisp, then lift the leaves onto a small plate.
Continue swirling the butter until the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and smell nutty.
Remove the skillet from the heat.
Carefully stir in the maple syrup.
Start with the full tablespoon, but remember: this is not meant to become a sweet sauce. The maple should sit quietly behind the brown butter.
07 · Cook the Gnocchi
Working in batches, lower the gnocchi into the gently boiling salted water.
Stir once so they don’t settle on the bottom.
When they float to the surface, cook for another 30 to 45 seconds.
Transfer them directly to the brown-butter skillet with a slotted spoon.
Before draining the pot, reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
08 · Bring It Together
Return the skillet to medium heat.
Let the gnocchi sit against the pan for a minute or two so some of the edges become lightly golden.
Add the lemon juice and about 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water.
Gently toss until the brown butter becomes glossy and lightly coats the gnocchi rather than pooling underneath them.
Add another splash of cooking water if needed.
Fold in the 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Taste before adding more salt.
09 · The Good Part
Spoon the gnocchi into warm shallow bowls.
Scatter generously with the toasted pepitas and crispy sage.
Finish with Parmesan, freshly cracked black pepper and just a few flakes of sea salt.
Serve immediately.
A Few Things That Make This Easier
Dry the pumpkin first.
Pumpkin carries a surprising amount of water. Cooking some of it away means you’ll need less flour, which helps keep the gnocchi tender.
Don’t chase a perfectly dry dough.
A soft, slightly tacky dough is what you want. Adding flour until it feels like pasta dough will give you heavy gnocchi.
Make the test gnocchi.
It takes two minutes and can save the entire batch.
Use pure pumpkin.
Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices and will throw off both the dough and the finished flavor.
Watch the butter, not the clock.
You’re looking for golden-brown milk solids and a nutty aroma. Brown butter can move from perfect to burnt quickly.
Keep the maple quiet.
The tablespoon is there to round out the pumpkin and browned butter, not make the dish taste sugary.
Christina's Note
The maple is the smallest ingredient in the sauce, but it’s the one I wouldn’t leave out. You shouldn’t necessarily taste maple when you take a bite. It just gives the brown butter a little warmth and makes the pumpkin feel more like October.