Mix Flour With Canned Pumpkin To Whip Up This Classic Italian Pasta (With A Fall Twist)

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Once you get the hang of it, making your own pasta dough can be as easy as it is delicious. Some varieties, of course, are easier than others. Take gnocchi, for example: the pillowy, often potato-based dumpling that's loved like a pasta is among the simplest varieties. It doesn't require any special equipment, and it's often made with just a few ingredients. That also leaves you plenty of room to tinker with less common components like canned pumpkin purée for a particularly autumnal preparation.

You can make a pumpkin gnocchi base with two parts pumpkin to three parts flour. That shakes out to something like a cup of unsweetened pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix!) to a cup and a half of flour. That combination alone, of course, would create a pretty subtly squash-flavored finish. So, you'll want at least some salt and pepper, plus your preferred pumpkin-adjacent spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice. Once the dough is rolled into roughly three-quarter-inch-thick ropes and cut into bite-sized bits (aim for half-inch pillows), it only takes a minute or so to boil the gourd-infused dumplings to comforting completion. You can also bake the gnocchi for a crispier texture and for easy sheet pan dinners. And there are plenty more tasty ways to enhance the dish once your gnocchi is off the heat.

Savory pumpkin preparations lend themselves to fennel's anise notes, and one way to make your pumpkin gnocchi more savory and herbaceous is with some fennel-forward Italian sausage. Free it of its casing and break it into bits; it's easy to brown on the stovetop or in the oven as part of a sheet pan dinner. Something fruit-forward, like Aidells Smoked Chicken Sausage with Apple, would also lean into the fall theme. A little cubed pancetta will likewise go a long way with the pumpkin's natural sweetness, as salty and powerfully porcine as it is.

When it comes to dressing your gnocchi, the tomato sauce or gravy that you might use for a more ordinary noodle could compete with or overpower the squash flavor. As rich as they are, cream sauces are also typically mild enough to let the gourd shine. Browned butter sizzled with aromatics like garlic and sage is also a classic pumpkin gnocchi companion. Even a swirl of extra virgin olive oil with some shaved Parmesan and a healthy sprinkling of fresh basil will look plenty polished on the plate, with an elegantly understated taste. And don't forget a handful of crunchy fried shallots on top, which introduces a bit of dynamic texture, too, however you're dressing up your pumpkin gnocchi.