Gluten-Free Pumpkin Gnocchi

A few weeks ago I made some pumpkin pancakes and wasn’t sure of what to do with the leftover pumpkin, so I made some pumpkin gnocchi. It was really good, but it wasn’t gluten-free, so today I tried it using gluten and wheat free flour and it turned out great as well. Feel free to use either gluten-free or regular flour to make these.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 flax egg (1 tbs flax meal w/ 2 tbs warm water, mixed and left to combine for about 5-10 minutes)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (This doesn’t have to be gluten-free – Feel free to use all-purpose or whole wheat)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1 can whole tomatoes/2-3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
• large handful of baby spinach
• 4-5 black olives, sliced
• red bell pepper, chopped
• mushrooms, sliced (I accidentally ate all the mushrooms last night, so I replaced them with pineapple :p)
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• extra virgin olive oil / virgin coconut oil (for sautéing)
• Optional toppings: Vegan Parmesan topping (Can be found already prepared in the refrigerated section of vegan/vegetarian products in grocery stores or you can make your own by blending nutritional yeast, almonds/pine nuts/walnuts in a blender until it is the consistency of crumbled parmesan), Daiya shredded vegan cheese, Salt & Pepper, Nutritional Yeast.

Directions

Prepare the flax egg and set aside. (See my flax egg directions above) In a large bowl, add in the pureed pumpkin, the flax egg mixture, the 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of sea salt. Slowly add in the flour, stirring as you are adding it into the bowl. Once it is all added, keep mixing it until everything is fully combined. It may also help to use your hands to mix everything together. Your dough should be able to hold together but it will still feel a bit sticky and not completely dry.

At this point you may want to start boiling a pot of water while you prepare the gnocchi. Get out a large cutting board or prepare a clean flat surface and sprinkle a bit of flour down and also add a bit of flour to your hands. Take about 1/4 or 1/5th of the dough and start to roll it out into a rope. Try to make it as even as possible and about 1 1/2″ wide and 1/2″ high. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the dough into small bite-sized pieces. Put to the side and repeat with the rest of the dough.

Once the water has come to a boil, place the gnocchi into the pot and wait until they rise to the surface. It took about 2-3 minutes for mine to float to the surface. At this point, use a straining ladle to remove them and place them on a plate. I cooked my gnocchi in about 3 batches, but once the water has boiled, it really takes no time at all to cook them all.

At this point, you can either follow my recipe for the sauce or use your favourite sauce recipe. If you’d like to follow mine, keep reading :)

Get out a non-stick skillet and add a small amount of oil. Heat it up to med-low heat. Add in the minced garlic and chopped onion and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add in the cayenne, italian seasoning, 1 can whole tomatoes (not the juice) or freshly chopped tomatoes, spinach, olives, chopped bell pepper and mushrooms. You can add in a few tbs of the tomato juice if using canned tomatoes and use a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes. Stir and cook for a few minutes. During the last couple of minutes of cooking, add in the pumpkin gnocchi and stir until it is coated with the tomato mixture. Remove from heat and serve as a side or a main dish.

I sprinkled vegan parmesan and daiya shredded vegan cheese on top when I served this, as well as adding a bit of pepper on top.