Pan-Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi

An elegant, rich, but grub-worthy dish that will surprisingly-quickly fulfill your dinner needs. Its so simple but so rich and flavorful, and the browned butter sage balsamic adds the perfect sweet tang to counterbalance the rich gnocchi. Remember, its not meant to be a "sauce".

Note that the secret to gnocchi is to have a light hand in the mixing. Overworking the dough will result in chewy, tough gnocchi.  Use a spatula to mix the dough and then your fingertips to just turn the dough a few times to incorporate the rest of the flour.


Although you may want to make more, this recipe serves 3 (or one, if you're Adam):

Ingredients
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, extra for garnish
1 large egg yoke
1 t lemon zest, extra for garnish
1t kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
1 cup flour, plus more for dusting
3 T butter, divided
2 T olive oil, divided
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 sprigs fresh sage, more for garnish

How to Make
1. Combine ricotta, pumpkin, parmesan, yolk, zest and salt in large bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle half of flour on mixture. Gently turn with spatula a few times to incorporate. Sprinkle remaining flour on top of mixture. Gently knead with your fingertips, just bringing together the mixture until flour is incorporated through. This should take a minute or two, be sure not to over-knead.
2. Dust a clean, dry surface with a generous sprinkling of flour. Divide dough into 4 parts. Take one part and roll into a long 1" diameter log. Tip: roll from the inside out, don't be afraid of it. Cut gnocchi into 1" pieces.
3. Heat a large frying pan or saute pan with 1 T of butter and 1 T olive oil. When hot, add a few gnocchi-- enough to cover surface but not touch each other. Fry on medium heat for 1-2 minutes, turn and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Remove gnocchi with tongs.
4. Simultaneously, on another pan over medium heat, add 2 T butter and 1 T olive oil. When hot add fresh sage. Let sage brown and sizzle, but not burn, for a couple of minutes until very fragrant. Smells delicious. Remove the sage and discard or keep to eat. Add balsamic vinegar to the pan and whisk. Let simmer on low for 1 minute and pour over the gnocchi.
5. Serve with shaved parmesan and a sage leaf for garnish.