Squash Gnocchi With Chestnuts, Amaretti & Poppy Seeds
Serves 6
Roast the squash and make the squash butter and gnocchi at least a day ahead. The gnocchi need to spend at least one night in the freezer before cooking; longer than that is just fine. 1 (2-pound) kabocha or kuri squash
1 large egg
2 cups 00 or all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
½ cup semolina flour + more for dusting ½ pound fresh, unpeeled chestnuts or cooked, jarred chestnuts ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
15 fresh sage leaves
3 amaretti cookies
6 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 Cook the squash.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Cut the squash in half crosswise, scoop out the seeds and discard.
Put the squash cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet, poke the skin all over with a fork, and roast until tender, about 45 minutes.
Moisture is the enemy of light, tender gnocchi. That’s why Strong recommends a dense, starchy squash variety for this recipe, roasts it dry and drains it before making the dough. You can make the squash puree a day before you make the pasta dough.
When the squash has cooled enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the skin and transfer to a clean kitchen towel (or place in a fine-mesh sieve) to drain off excess moisture. Let stand 30 minutes. Pass the squash through a ricer or puree in a food processor or with a stick blender. Measure out 2 cups of squash puree, and reserve any extra for another use.
2 Blend the dough.
Transfer the squash to a bowl; add the egg, 1½ cups of the 00 or all-purpose flour and a generous pinch of salt. Mix with a whisk until all the flour is incorporated; the dough will be dense and thick. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip (or into a gallon-size freezer Ziploc bag with a corner cut away). Line a clean baking sheet with parchment.
“Mix the flour in quickly,” Strong says. “Once it is all absorbed, stop whisking. Otherwise the dough gets too glutinous and overworked.”
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup 00 or all-purpose flour with the semolina flour; sprinkle a thin, even layer onto the prepared baking sheet.
3 Make the gnocchi.
Keeping the piping or Ziploc bag slightly elevated over the baking sheet, pipe out ½-inch lengths of dough, then cut with a pair of scissors and let them fall to the tray. When all of the dough has been piped, dust the tops of the gnocchi with a little more semolina flour, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and freeze overnight. If you’re not cooking the gnocchi the following day, transfer them to plastic freezer storage bags once the gnocchi are completely frozen; they will keep up to 1 month.
A boon for the home cook: “We freeze all the fresh pasta we make at the restaurants,” Strong says. “The texture improves upon freezing, and you don’t need — in fact you shouldn’t — thaw them before cooking.”
4 Make the chestnut butter.
If using fresh chestnuts, carve an “x” on the flat side with the tip of a paring knife, cutting through the shell but not into the flesh. Place the chesnuts in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Drain, let cool slightly, then peel the chestnuts.
Set aside 2 peeled chestnuts, then return the remaining chestnuts to the saucepan, add a splash of water, cover, bring to a boil and cook until chestnuts are tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add 4 tablespoons of the butter and process until smooth. The butter can be made up to a week ahead and refrigerated.
Chestnuts are notoriously annoying to peel, so feel free to substitute peeled, jarred chestnuts for fresh. In that case, skip the cooking step and add them directly to the food processor with the butter.
5 Finish the dish.
When ready to serve, bring a large pot of water to boil. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, the 2 reserved chestnuts and the sage leaves. Cook, swirling the pan, until the butter is golden brown and smells nutty, using the side of a spoon to break the chestnuts into small pieces.
Gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons of the boiling water, followed by the chestnut butter. The sauce should be creamy and emulsified; keep warm over very low heat.
Tip: Adding a small amount of water to the butter sauce emulsifies it, making it ultracreamy, rather than greasy. Add half of the gnocchi to the boiling water, and cookuntil the gnocchi float, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the skillet, then stir gently to coat with
the butter sauce.
Strong cautions against poking at the gnocchi while they cook. “You’ll want to
mess with them, to check them. Don’t.” Once the egg sets, the gnocchi will, in Strong’s words, “dumplingify,” and float to the surface of the water.
When the water returns to a boil, cook the remaining gnocchi and transfer with a slotted spoon to the skillet. Increase the heat slightly, toss the gnocchi so they are all coated with sauce, then divide among 6 warmed plates.
With a Microplane-style grater, grate amaretti over each serving and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Serve hot.
Per serving: 456 calories, 11 g protein, 54 g carbohydrates, 22 g fat (10 g saturated), 77 mg cholesterol, mg sodium, 5 g fiber.