Never having made my own pasta and not having a pasta maker I decided to try this gnocchi recipe from the Food Network. This recipe was very easy to follow but as I don't have a ricer I had to kind of fudge that step of the directions. My squash also took over an hour to cook instead of the 30-35 minutes I thought it would take.I was very nervous about this creation but Miles gave it a big thumbs up so I guess it will be something I will have the opportunity to perfect. These didn't really taste like squash and as I enjoy squash I will probably make them with butternut squash rather than acorn squash next time. I also thought my gnocchi were to large so I will cut a smaller hole in the bag and pipe them more slowly into the boiling water next time I try this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pound acorn squash
- 1 1/2 cups flour (I actually ended up using more like 1 3/4 cup of flour to get a firmer consistency to my gnocchi)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut the squash in half or thirds and place on aluminum foil in the oven. Bake until tender when stabbed with a fork, usually 30 to 35 minutes. - Mine took over an hour but I only cut it in half - Remove from the oven and, when it is cool enough to handle, scoop out and discard the seeds and membrane. Scoop the flesh into a strainer placed over a large bowl. Place in the refrigerator so that the squash cools and the liquid drains away. Leave for at least 6 hours or overnight. - very little water drained from my squash so I absorbed a little extra water using a paper towel -
- Add the eggs and salt. Stir well and add the flour, a little at a time, stirring to amalgamate all the ingredients. Using a hand mixer make sure the ingredients are well combined. The result should be soft but not runny.
- Put the gnocchi into a zip-lock bag or a piping bag. Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and allow the water to return to a boil. Cut a hole in the corner of the bag so you can pipe the gnocchi batter into the boiling water. Pipe a small amount of the gnocchi into the water cutting off the dough every cm or so cooking the gnocchi in batches.
- Cook the gnocchi in the boiling water and cook until they rise to the top of the pot. Remove gnocchi and also to drain while cooking the next batch.\
