American holidays are funny things for an expat. Sometimes they mean a lot. And sometimes? It’s just another Thursday.
Some years I’ve gone all out, making a huge Thanksgiving feast out in Todi, getting a turkey (or a goose, or a capon) worthy of our wood burning oven and then inviting enough people over to eat it all up.
And other years? Eh.
I’m not sure why I run hot and cold about holidays. It’s partly the hot and cold, I think. This fall has been unseasonably warm and so it just doesn’t seem like it should be Thanksgiving quite yet. It’s also that – and this is the biggest part – it’s just not a holiday here. And here is very much my home.
Even though I may not be quite in a feast kind of mood just yet, I am still of craving some of the flavors I associate with Thanksgiving. Turkey and gravy, biscuits, anything pumpkiny. And sage. Lots and lots of sage-filled stuffing.
Which is why I ended up making butternut squash gnudi for lunch this weekend. I wanted something that was cozy and warming, and that brought together some of the flavors I was starting to feel a bit nostalgic about.
Gnudi are pretty easy, if a bit fiddly at first. They are basically any sort of vegetable you want (I’ve made them with swiss chard in the past, as well as beets) Mix the vegetable of choice with ricotta, grated parmigiano and just enough flour and egg to hold it together. The resulting dough is very wet, sticky and barely holds together. It’s much nearer to a dumpling than gnocchi. You can either use your hands or a couple of spoons to slip them into boiling salted water. Like gnocchi, they only take a few minutes to cook, before bobbing to the surface of the water.
To serve them this weekend I took the standard melted butter and made it even better with loads of freshly picked sage from the terrace and pancetta for good measure. A dusting of more grated parmigiano and while it wasn’t exactly traditional holiday fare, it did taste of fall. And that, at least, is a step in the right direction.
butternut squash gnudi {sage + pancetta}
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut squash (about half kilo / 1 pound of pulp)
- 500 gr/ 1 pd fresh ricotta
- 1 cup grated parmigiano, plus extra for topping
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for roasting squash
- 1/2 cup cubed pancetta
- 8 sage leaves
- 6 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F
- Cut the butternut squash in half, length wise. Scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a parchment covered oven pan. Rub lightly with olive oil and place in hot oven.
- Cook for about 40 minutes, until it starts to collapse. Let cool.
- Scoop out the pulp, you should have about 1 pound. Place in bowl and mash with fork till smooth. Add ricotta and stir well. Add egg and cheese, and stir. Add the flour, a bit at a time, until it is well mixed.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.
- Pour olive oil into a pan big enough to hold all the gnudi later. Heat and add the cubed pancetta. Let cook slowly until the pancetta has given up most of it’s fat and is lightly browned. Add the sage leaves and cook for two more minutes. Turn off heat and add the butter, which should begin to melt.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Form the gnudi: This is the trickiest part, since the dough is very wet. I’ve done it with my hands and with spoons, you can do it however you feel most comfortable.
- Lightly flour a large plate or cooking sheet.
- Using your hands: flour your hands well, and take some of the batter in your hands, forming an oblong gnudi, about 3 inches long. Kind of like a small football. Place on tray. When they are all made, gently lift them and place in the boiling water. They only take about 4 minutes to cook. Once they float to the surface, let them cook another minute. Then, using a slotted spoon, place them into the warmed butter, pancetta mixture.
- Using spoons: scoop up some of the batter with one large soup spoon, and using another, smooth it over and gently slide it into the boiling water. Proceed as above.
- Either way you can only do this in small batches, about 5 or 6 at a time.
- Once all the gnudi are in the butter, raise the heat a bit, to make sure the butter is melted and the gnudi are warm.
- To serve, place 3 or 4 gnudi on each plate and top with some of the pan juices and grated cheese.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve been looking at the butternut squash sitting on my counter and trying to decide what to do with it, something different than my usual dishes. I just made gnudi with chard so I’m feeling confident that I can do this! I look forward to your blog every day.
How did the chard gnudi turn out?
They were wonderful-I don’t know why I was so worried about making them! I can’t wait to try your recipe this week.
why haven’t you responded to my email I sent about trips to Italy? do you sponsor or act as a guide?
Happy Thanksgiving Elizabeth and family! You and your blogs/emails are things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving! And the gnudi look and sound wonderful. xox
Thanks Kathy, to you and yours too!
American holidays are funny things for an expat living in America, as well 🙂
I feel the same way, even after 15+ years of living on the West Coast.
Some years I enjoy the tradition of sharing a Thanksgiving meal with friends,
other years I just love the freedom of a long work free weekend, quiet street and getting away from it all.
Whatever this Thursday brings, I am definitely adding this link to the week’s recipe list – love the scent of fresh sage & these gnudi look so tempting!
I think Thanksgiving can definitely be a strange holiday, especially if you are in a strange land.
I make something with butternut squash at least once a week but have never made anything like this. Thanks for sharing this, I’ll look forward to trying it.
I am a consultant to the Pizza industry and intend to adapt your Gundi as a topping on a pizza. I may have to change it around a bit, as in very small Gnudi dollops with Pancetta inside each Gundi. It’s worth a try. I keep you posted.
Alex Castiello
Mmm….well, that’s original!
Wanting to intensify the flavor AND make the gnudi easier to handle, I cut the the squash into 1/2″ cubes, tossed w/olive oil and baked it until the edges browned. Triple flavor that way, sweet and intense. Used ~ 2x the poundage to get the required 1 pound for the gnudi. American butternut squash are so less flavorful than Italian
— whatever they use, so I figured I’d need to up my odds for success. Think Alla Zucca flan in Venice!
Gnudi were easy to form and were really flavorful. Thanks for the inspiration. Today we’ll try the gnudi that I put into the freezer.
What a great idea to roast them!