Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Spinach Sauce & Beurre Noisette

Adapted from Pumpkin Gnocchi with Spinach from The Pasta Bible by Christian Teubner, Silvio Rizzi & Tan Lee Leng

*My recipe includes directions for preparing the butternut squash two days ahead and the gnocchi one day ahead. You can do everything the same day, if desired.

For the gnocchi you will need:

1 small butternut squash, about 1 to 1-1/2 pounds

1 egg

1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface

1/2 freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground pepper (about 1 rounded tsp. and 1/2 tsp., respectively)

For the spinach sauce you will need:

1/2 pound fresh spinach

2 tablespoons minced onion

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1/4 cup white wine (I actually substituted Pom Juice since I didn't have a bottle of wine open - it worked great!)

1/2 cup beef stock

1 tablespoon cream (I used half & half)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

freshly grated nutmeg

To serve you will need:

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

6 tablespoons butter, melted and lightly browned (beurre noisette)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the squash on a baking sheet and pierce with a sharp knife in several places. Bake for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until a knife can be inserted easily. Allow the squash to cool until easy to handle and cut it in half. Remove the seeds and fiber and scoop out the flesh with a large spoon and force it through a potato ricer. You will need about 1 packed cup of riced squash. Alternately, you can place the flesh in a food processor until lightly pureed. You just don't want any lumps. *At this point, I placed the squash in a fine-meshed strainer over a bowl, covered and refrigerated it and allowed the excess moisture to drain out overnight.

To make the gnocchi:

Mix the riced or pureed and strained squash with the egg, flour, Parmesan, salt and pepper and work into a smooth dough. If the dough is still sticky, add a little more flour. Taking plum-sized pieces of dough, roll into a rope about 1/2 thick on a floured surface. With a knife, cut the rope into pieces about 1 inch wide. They will resemble a pillow. See this video. Dust with more flour, if necessary, to keep them from sticking together. Repeat with the rest of the dough. I left the gnocchi in the pillow shape because they were a little too soft to roll into traditional gnocchi shapes on a gnocchi board or over a fork. I'm sure this is a result of the squash having more water content than gnocchi made with potatoes.

Have a large bowl of ice water ready near your cooking area. Cook the gnocchi in batches in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes or until the gnocchi rise to the surface. Using a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi when they are done (at this point you can serve them immediately, or, place in the bowl full of ice water to stop the cooking). When all the gnocchi are cooked, drain and place in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate the gnocchi overnight. You may need to rinse them with a little water to separate them the next day.*

To make the spinach sauce:

Wash and trim the spinach. In a saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Sauté the onion until softened. Add the spinach, toss and cook until wilted. Puree the spinach mixture in a food processor. Combine the pomegranate juice and meat stock in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to about 1/2 cup. Add the spinach puree and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the cream. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly and keep warm.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add the 6 tablespoons of butter and allow it to brown lightly. Drain most of the butter into a pyrex bowl, leaving enough in the pan to sauté the gnocchi. Add the already-cooled gnocchi and sauté until heated through, adding more browned butter, if needed.

Place the spinach sauce on a serving plate, add the sautéed gnocchi and drizzle the rest of the browned butter over the top. Add grated Parmesan and serve.

*Notes: The squash can be baked, riced and allowed to drain two days before serving and the gnocchi can be prepared through the boiling stage the day before serving.