Succulent little squash gnocchi; soft, sweet and zingy with a drizzle of garlic butter and a sprinkling of parmesan

I love a good ‘nuttersquat bosh’ as they’re fondly referred to in my family.  They’re so versatile – you can make them into soup, roast them and serve them as a side dish, stuff them with something yummy as a main course OR you can make some delicious little gnocchi to delight friends and family alike.

This recipe does take a little bit of prep time so it’s not one to start from scratch when you get home from work.  There’s nothing stopping you from roasting your squash in advance though if you want to be all organised about it!

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Basil, Parmesan & Lemon

Serves 2 (or 4 as a starter)

The Gnocchi

You will need:

1 small butternut squash (approx. 600g)

175 g plain flour

1 oz grated Parmesan

1 tbs chopped basil

• Cut your squash in half, horizontally and drizzle over some olive oil and season
• Roast in the over for 30 minutes at 180C – until all soft and golden
• Leave to cool slightly and then scoop out all of the lovely flesh (disposing of the skin and seeds) and pass it through a ricer (or a sieve will do if you don’t have a ricer – just a bit more of a pain
• Leave to cool COMPLETELY – I can’t stress this enough! If possible, leave over night.  If you don’t, then your squash will EAT the flour and you’ll need far too much to get the right consistency of dough.  Not tasty…
• Mix in your Parmesan and chopped basil
• Mix in the flour.  You should end up with a dough that you can work with, but which is still relatively moist.
• Cut your dough in quarters and then roll each quarter into a sausage that’s about 1/2 inch thick
• Cut each sausage into bite size peices (about 1/2 inch long)
• Place each piece on to a baking tray (I put some grease proof paper on first)
• Leave to dry out a bit for a couple of hours
• Place your gnocchi into a large pan of boiling water (you need a great big pan so the temperature of the water isn’t affected too much when you add your gnocchi)T
• They’re ready when they float to the top

The Dressing

1 oz unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp lemon zest

Squeeze of lemon juice

Seasoning

• Melt your butter in a small frying pan on a low heat
• Add your crushed garlic and lemon zest and heat gently for a couple of minutes (being careful not to burn the garlic)
• Add a quick squeeze of lemon & season to taste
• Chuck in your cooked gnocchi and make sure it’s coated all over
• Garnish with some grated Parmesan

Top Tip

If your gnocchi end up a bit too stodgy, then you’re either adding too much flour or you’re not cooking them long enough.  The first is the most likely so to avoid this, make sure you let your squash completely cool before adding the flour and even consider frying of your riced squash mixture before cooling it to remove even more excess moisture.  If all else fails, then make your mix with half squash and half potato.  Potato contains more starch so makes your dough much more workable 🙂