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Crispy Pumpkin Gnocchi with Browned Sage Butter

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Halloween is over, but that is by no means a reason to declare pumping season as being over too! Since this year fall lasts pretty long, regarding the weather, and it still is pretty warm, there still is some time for pumpkins to grow and plenty ways and occasions to enjoy them. I thought I’d get a little creative with the typical fall veggie and experiment with it.

And, as you can see, the mission was successful! 🙂 I know that if you are not a veggie lover, eating one and the same vegetable, just because it is in season, can get really boring really quickly. Because I want to avoid that, I always vary with the way I prepare them. Steam, bake, pan fry, eat them raw, just whatever I feel like. In order to give you some inspiration on what else to do with the star of fall I combined two of our favorite dishes; Pumpkin + Gnocchi to make this real good Pumpkin Gnocchi with sage butter.

I know that it sounds a little complicated to make, and to be honest it is not super quick BUT you can prepare them in large batches and freeze them. Just important to know is that if you freeze them, thaw them before pan frying because otherwise they will be crispy on the outside while they are not done on the inside, and not nice and soft!

I recommend using Hokkaido Pumpkin because I believe the consistency of it works best with this recipe. If you really do not like Hokkaido you can switch it out for any other of your desire you may need a little bit more flour then, depending on what you chose. Pumpkins are very nutritious as they are high in Vitamins especially Vitamin A! Also they contain a bunch of antioxidants and help boosting your immune system, which is great especially for the cold months! 

The only other necessary ingredient in making the Gnocchi except for pumpkin is flour! The flour helps the pumpkin to get a gnocchi like texture and taste. It binds it together. I also added some spices to give it more flavor and a heartier note which transforms the into pure deliciousness! 

Making the gnocchi is not too complicated, just a lot of work. First you have to cut and peel the pumpkin into smaller pieces. Best is about 4cm wide and 2 thick. I steamed my pumpkin because when boiling they soak up a lot of water which later would make the gnocchi squishy and not crispy. Another option would be to bake it in the oven until soft. You can test this by simply piecing through with a fork. If that works easily, it is done, if not, it’ll take a little more time! Depending on the size of your chunks it will take approximately 20-30 minutes.

After steaming, they are mashed and all the water needs to be squished out for the perfect results! Combine it with the flour and spices. When the dough is done you can cut off some small pieces, for them into gnocchi and place them on a plate. Let the finished ones chill in the fridge while preparing the rest. 

The preparing after that is really easy. You just have to melt some butter with fresh sage in a pan until it gets brown. At this point, your kitchen will smell like heaven, so good. The sage works perfectly together with the pumpkin, it is just so good! Once it got a little brown, add the gnocchi and pan fry them for about 2 miuntes on each side. I know, this is not the traditional way to prepare gnocchi but it really is incredibly delicious. We do nto boil them in water because the Gnocchi are softer than usual gnocchi and would fall apart. If you really do not like the frying, you can add more flour until the dough is harder and then boil it. 

To serve it top it with some more of that butter and a fresh burrata because you can never go wrong with burrata! Otherwise you can also add some freshly grated parmesan cheese, pecorino, or mozzarella.

If you do look for a different way to enjoy pumpkin, you will definitely like this recipe. It is such a great one to enjoy in fall. 

If you decide to recreate it be sure to tag me with @uneptcuisiniere or #unepetitecuisiniere on Instagram and it would mean a lot to me if you would leave a rating here on the blog!

Bon appetit!

Katie

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crispy Pumpkin Gnocchi with Browned Sage Butter

A great way to enjoy the star of fall in a different way. If you like Gnocchi and Pumpkin, this dish will be for you!

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Prep Time 40 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde 10 Minuten
Servings 5 bowls
Calories 408 kcal

What you will need

For the Gnocchi

  • 400 g Hokkaido Pumpkin
  • 380 g Flour
  • 1 TSP Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp muskat
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • some more flour for forming

For the Preparing/ Garnish:

  • 70 g Butter
  • 1 handful Sage
  • Burratta
  • some pine nuts

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Bring a large pot with water to a boil. Peel the pumpkin and cut it into about 3-4cm wide and 2cm thick pieces. Lay them into a steamer and add the steamer on top of the water. Let the pumpkin steam for 25 miuntes.

  2. After 25 miuntes the pumpkin should be soft. You can test this by piecing through it with a fork. If it goes through easily it is done. If you do not have a steamer, you can also boil or bake the pumpkin. Smash the pumpkin down with a fork. there will be some water at the bottom now and we want to get rid of that in order to mak our gnocchi moist and not smushy.

  3. Take a kitchen towel or a cheese cloth and add the smashed pumpkin into it. Gently sqish it so some more water will come out. Once all the excess water is out, return the pumpkin into a bowl. Add the flour little by little, mixing through continuosly until a dough is formed. If you feeel like you have a good dough without adding all of the flour, leave some out, and if you feel like you do need more, add some more.

  4. Once the dough is formed take a smaller piece of that and roll it out into a saussage form. Cut off 3cm large pieces of that and form them into gnocchi in your hands. Here you might need some more flour on your working place in order to not make the Gnocchi stick. Once you have formed them place them on a plate and store in the fridge while making the other ones.

  5. When all of them are done, melt the butter in a large pan and add the sage. Let the butter brown for about 1-2 miuntes. Then add the Gnocchi in and let them fry for about 2 miuntes on each side.

  6. Add them onto the plates and top with some more butter. Cut uo the burratta and add it on top as well. To finish it off sprinkle some pine nuts and serve!

    Enjoy!

Caramelized Pecan and Fig Salad

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We’re are in the middle of October which means that we are in the middle of fig season. One of the best seasons ever, I believe. They are juicy, soft, sweet, and they have such a pretty color! Plus they are so versatile I believe! They go well on so many things! Add them to your French toast, on top of a yoghurt bowl, dried in granola, serve them with cheese, add them into salads or Buddha bowls, or even grill them to serve as a side. The options are endless! 

But a fig is not necessarily a fig. There are small ones and there are bigger ones. I really like the small ones on top of yoghurt for example because they are just perfect in size and you can always eat the skin! With the bigger ones, I prefer using them in salads or as a snack. But if you want to consume them with the peel, make sure to buy organic ones. If you don’t then I would not recommend eating the skin! 

Figs have a great nutritional value too! When fresh they are really low in calories, but have a quite high fiber content! They help reducing the blood pressure as they increase the potassium in your body. Also, they are high in calcium, which is an essential Mineral. When dried, they are higher in calories but also in fiber, with incredible 9g per 100g serving. So if you want to add some sweet or chewiness to your next granola, or just snack in something sweet with nut butter than grab some figs next time, either dried or fresh with some nut butter and you have a delicious and filling snack! 

Onto the next highlight of the salad; the caramelized pecans! I am a huge fan of pecans, I lottery eat them on anything! I love the flavor and the crunch! Nuts in general are packed with protein, vitamins and healthy fats! They are a great addition in nutritional value and crunch to almost any dish! Yoghurt, salads, stir fry’s, curries, you name it! Caramelized First nuts is incredibly simple and only requires 3 ingredients! The nuts themselves, some honey or agave, and a pinch of sea salt. I like to prepare them in a non – stick pan as I believe that it is easiest and quickest. 

It is as simple as adding all the ingredients to the pan and heating it up. At first it will seem as there was too little honey as it will only stick on a few nuts, but as soon as it heats up it will get more liquid and it will cover all the nuts. They work great on a salad as they add sweetness but I also think that they go along very well with cheese or yoghurt. I like the pre make them in a batch in the beginning of the week and them add on on several different dishes throughout the week. If you are not a fan of pecans they can be substituted them for any other nut. Walnuts and almonds would work great, hazelnuts do work too but I would not recommend using cashews since they already have a sweet touch and are rather soft so I would not recommend using them. 

The dressing for the salad is really creamy and delicious. It is not loaded with tons of calories like conventional store bought ones. It is made out of Avocado, Greek Yoghurt, Dijon Mustard, honey, Tahin, anchovies Lemon Juice and Vinegar. I know that it sounds like a lot of ingredients but it is totally worth it! It is an oil free dressing. Just blend all of the ingredients up and you will end up with a delicious creamy dressing! 

To add the finishing touches coat the spinach in the dressing, cut up some dogs, crumble feta cheese and add the walnuts on top! It is an amazing side dish in Fall with some roasted meat or to enjoy along a bowl of pasta! It contains a lot of fall ingredients, which I love since it is a great way to enjoy all the seasonal and regional food! 

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Caramelized Pecan and Fig Salad

A delicious side dish to incooperate all of the delicious fall foods!

Course appe, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 3 Minuten
Total Time 18 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 153 kcal

What you will need

For the Salad:

  • 3 handful Baby spinach (baby spinach preferably)
  • 2 Figs
  • 25 g Pecans
  • 2 tsp Honey
  • 40 g Feta Cheese

For the Dressing:

  • 30 g Avocado
  • 2 tbsp Greek Yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Tahin
  • 2 tsp White Vinegar
  • 1/2 juice Lemon
  • 1 Anchovie
  • 2 tsp Mustard
  • 1 tsp honey

How to

That’s how it works:

  1. Add all of the ingredients for the salad into a small blender. Add maybe about 1,5 tablespoons of water to start out. Blend it up. It should be creamy but runny. If it is too thick, feel free to add a little more Tahin or water in order to thin it out. Add a generous pinch of salt and set aside, best in the fridge.

  2. Add the nuts into a small nonstick pan. If you do not have one it is not a huge problem but if you have the option, use a non-stick one. Add the honey and a pinch of salt into it. Don’t worry if the honey will only stick onto a few nuts. Heat it up on medium high, constantly stirring. As soon as it gets hot the honey will get more liquid and coat all of the nuts. Once that happened, take the bits out of the pan and set aside. 

  3. Toss the spinach with the dressing and separate it onto 4 bowls. Cut up the figs and add them on top. Crumble the feta. Finally, add the caramelized pecans on top and serve! 

    Enjoy! 

Fall Tabbouleh Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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Who doesn´t love a stuffed potato. Maybe with some sour cream and beef, or with roasted vegetables and guac or whichever combination you like. Roasted potatoes with some sort of stuffing is just such a comforting and easy meal. I love it on weeknights because everyone can pick their one fillings and it is just a family meal. Because they are so versatile I like to add a twist in them whenever I make them. Sometimes I make them a little more American with loads of cheese, sometimes Mexican with salsa and avocado, sometimes a mix.

This time I decided to not only switch up the filing a little but also go for sweet potatoes instead of normal potatoes. I honestly love sweet potatoes and I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before. The crispy skin and the soft inside is just so good combined with the spices. In order to really get those spices into the potato, you have to use oil when baking it. Without oil, it won´t ever get that deep flavor and that crispiness. I use a spice mix that consists of most people´s pantry staples. It just intensifies the sweetness of the potatoes but gives them an extra kick. 

I wondered what filling would go well with sweet potatoes and a thousand ideas crossed my mind until it came to me to just combine two of my favorite dishes. Stuffed potatoes & tabbouleh! If I wouldn’t had created that myself I would have called it genius. It literally tastes so amazing. It’s going to be your new favorite. Easy weeknight and easy to prep, perfect meal prep dish, ideal for weekends when the family and friends are coming together, just perfect for any occasion.

That warm and soft sweet potato and the freshness of the tabbouleh just go so well together. Paired with the super delicious Tahini Sauce it is just so good! Since tabbouleh is a pretty summery dish I think I added a fall twist to it. Some small chopped up apples, raisins, nuts, and some Swiss chard. I tossed it together with the Couscous and dressed with simply Olive Oil and lemon juice. It helps bring out the flavor but doesn’t overpower them. The different fruits and veggies add such a variety in flavor, a great crunch, and so much color. It feels like eating the rainbow with this salad. 

The real addiction in this dish is the Tahini Sauce. So Good. Really simple ingredients, Tahini, lemon juice, mustard, water, vinegar, and oil. It just has such an amazing flavor and because of the Tahini it makes the dish a little more oriental. The lemon gives a great contrast to the hearty ness of the sweet potato and paired with the guac (which technically is optional, but actually not) you won’t go back to sour cream. The drizzle on top is so satisfying and damn good.

This entire combination of warm sweet potato, crunchy tabbouleh, creamy guac and refreshing Tahini dressing is bomb. It is not complicated to make which will make it your new favorite dish. So easy to meal prep and prepare in general as you can roast some sweet potatoes in the weekend and make some of that good tabbouleh and just take it whenever you need. If you do make it be sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere and leave a rating. I honestly really really like this dish and I hope that you will like it too!

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Fall Tabbouleh Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Super comfortable and healthy fall dinner

Course dinner, Main Course
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 50 Minuten
Total Time 50 Minuten
Servings 2 people
Calories 650 kcal

What you will need

For the Sweet Potatoes:

  • 1 large Sweet Potato about 500-600g
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Pepper
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Curcuma Powder

For the Tabbouleh

  • 70 g Couscous
  • 3 stalks Swiss chard
  • 1/2 Apple
  • 100 g Tomatoes
  • 1 small Red Onion
  • 1/3 Cucumber
  • 1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper
  • 1 tbsp Chopped Parsley
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1.5 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • Salt & Pepper

For the Tahini Sauce

  • 1 tsp Tahini
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tsp Maple Syrup
  • 1-2 tbsp Almond Milk can substitute for water
  • 1 tbsp Water
  • 1.5 tbsp Lemon Juice

To finish it off:

  • 1 small Avocado
  • 1 stalk Spring Onions finely chopped

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Cut the sweet potato in half. In a samll bowl mix all the spices together with the oil. Brush both sides of the cut sweet potatoes with the oil-spice mixture and place o a baking tray. Once the oven is heated up, place them in and bae for about 45-50 minutes.

For the Tabbouleh:

  1. Prepare the Couscous according to the package instructions. Chop the tomatoes, the bell pepper, the appla, the cucumber, and the swiss chard in cubes, a little smaller than 1cm. Finely mince the onion. In a large bowl add all of the vegetables, the couscous and the parsely. drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil on top and gently combine everything until is it well mixed through.

For the Tahini Sauce:

  1. Add all of the ingredients into a small bowl and mix or into a small blender and blend until you get a smooth and runny consistency. If you prefer to have it thinner, add more water or almond milk, if you want it thicker, add more Tahini.

To finish it off:

  1. Smash the avocado and generously salt and pepper it. Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and place them on two plates. With a fork carefully smash the inside of the potatoes and take some of the smashed filling out so you have more space for the filling. Add the Tabbouleh into the muld you just created. Top with some of the mashed avocado and drizle with the Tahini sauce. Serve as it is or with a small side salad if you prefer. Enjoy!

Fall Harvest Salad (V, S)

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Fall is officially here and the temperatures are going down. Although the weekends are still super nice and sunny, you know that fall is here as soon as the leaves start to turn red, brown, and yellow and the first chestnuts are lying on the ground. Fall is such a great season, such beautiful colors and beautiful landscapes. So beautiful. Fall also means comfort foods to me and hot soups. But only because the season changes doesn’t mean just eating unhealthy comfort foods. There are so many great seasonal foods you can pack into super delicious salads. 

With this salad I tried to bring all of the beautiful fall colors into one bowl. The orange in the pumpkin, the red in the pomegranate seeds, the yellow in the pear, the brown in the almonds, and the green from the spinach. It is like eating the rainbow. A lot of people see salads as summer-food but I think that they are a great way to switch up things and not only eating soups and heavy dishes. This one is super refreshing because of the dressing but still really hearty because of the war roasted pumpkins, and the nuts. 

I used Delicata Squash because I think it works great in Salads and or roasting. It has a slight sweet taste and is not quite as dense as for example Hokkaido pumpkin. It is super simple to bring out the flavor and it roasts for only 20 minutes which I think is really great. I seasoned it very simply because I think that otherwise it would overpower the flavor of the rest of the salad. You can use any pumpkin you like but the roasting time will vary depending on the type of pumpkin. 

As a base I decided to go for baby spinach because of its mild flavor and it soaks up the flavor of the dressing easily. I simply love the slightly buttery taste and texture. If you do not like spinach you can go for anything else, lambs lettuce would work great too but I would not recommend kale because it needs more heartiness in a dressing to taste really good in a salad. You can also do a mix of different ones, it would work really great too if you decide to make it a little fancier! The pear on top adds some sweetness and soft butter-like texture, which goes really well with the salad base and the crunch of the toppings. 

For a little crunch I added the pomegranate seeds and the almonds. You can buy prepackaged pomegranate seeds but I like to to buy a whole pomegranate and take them out myself. It is a little work, takes maybe like ten minutes but you do not need unnecessary plastic packaging, they are fresher, and they last for longer, which I think is great. The almonds just give the whole salad some richness, healthy fats, and protein. I really like the heartiness and kind of dryness of almonds as I think they pair very well with the soft, juicy roasted Delicata Squash but some walnuts would work really well in szuch a salad too! Walnuts are a great seasonal food in fall and also regional here in Austria but I unfortunately did not have them on hand when I made this salad.  

For the dressing I decided to use Tahini because it is my favorite ingredient when it comes to salad dressings. It makes it so incredibly creamy and tastes so good! Also Tahini is a great healthy fat and contains a lot of vitamins. I mixed it with some Dijon mustard, lemon juice, a little olive oil, some of the pomegranate juice that ran out when I took out the seeds, and a tiny splash of maple syrup. Just mix it all up and voila, so delicious!

I really like this salad to enjoy as a light lunch and making it fresh but it also works great as meal prep if you store the dressing separately. It comes together really quickly and simple and is such a great healthy fall dish! If you decide to recreate it, make sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere! I hope you will enjoy and like it as much as I do.

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Fall Harvest Salad

A healthy and delicious salad to enjoy al of the seasonal foods that fall brings us.

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 20 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 2 people
Calories 379 kcal

What you will need

For the Salad:

  • 200 g Baby spinach
  • 1/2 Pear
  • 1/2 Pomegranate
  • 400-500 g Delicata Squash
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 30 g Almonds

For the Dressing:

  • 1 tbsp Tahini
  • 2 tbsp Pomegranate Juice
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1/2 tbsp White wine vinegar

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Cut the Delicata squash into about 1cm thick slices. Remove the seeds and place them in a bowl. Generously salt and pepper them and mix the with the Olive oil. Place them on the baking tray and make sure that they do not overlap. Bake them in a preheated oven at 180C for about 20 minutes.

  2. While the pumpkin is baking, wash the spinach and the pear. Plcae the salad into a bowl and cut the pear into about 1.5cm large cubes. roughly chop the almonds. Cut the pomgranate in half and take out the seeds. I believe it is easiest to carve them out with a fork into a bowl and then take out the parts from the shell thaat came with it. Add the two fruits to the spinach along with the chopped up nuts.

  3. Add all the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and mix well until combined. By now the pumpkin should be cooked through, so take it out of the oven. Mix the dressing with the salad, divide it onto two plates and top it with the roasted squash. Serve and enjoy!