This weekend, my son Toren and I made pumpkin gnocchi (pronounced: nyokki) ~ we first had this delicious dish at a favorite restaurant

“alla fontaniva” in Italy ~ they served it with a pear and walnut sauce, we did ours with a buttered apple-pecan sauce ~ either way, a sure

treat ~ happy fall!

pumpkin gnocchi 

• 1-1/2 cups pureed pumpkin (canned works well)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup light brown sugar (do you want a lightly sweet 1st course or a dessert? the choice is yours!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups flour

combine pumpkin and eggs ~ stir well. add cinnamon, sugar, salt and nutmeg ~ stir well. slowly start mixing in flour until dough (the consistency of cookie dough) forms. drop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls into salted water. gnocchi cooks very fast, 2-4 minutes, so have the sauce ready… we cooked about 10 gnocchi at a time, so as not to crowd the pot ~

buttered apple-pecan sauce

• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• dash of salt
• 2 apples, cored and diced (I used honey-crisp)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 cup pecans, toasted (reserve 1/4 cup for garnish)

in a large skillet, melt butter and sugar; add remaining ingredients, simmer until apples are softened ~ about 5-10 minutes.  keep sauce warm ~ when the gnocchi are finished, use a slotted spoon to drain and transfer to sauce ~ transfer to a serving dish, top with reserved pecans ~ enjoy!