Gnocchi with squash and salsa di noci
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Gnocchi with squash and salsa di noci
Salsa di noci is a walnut sauce, which adds a lovely, nutty depth of flavour to this simple primi course
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
723Kcal
Fat
55gr
Saturates
14gr
Carbs
35gr
Sugars
6gr
Fibre
7gr
Protein
18gr
Salt
1.1gr
Robert Chambers
Robert is the head chef at Luca, one of London’s most-loved Italian restaurants, where his focus is on giving beautiful British produce a sprinkle of Italian magic
See more of Robert Chambers’s recipes
Robert Chambers
Robert is the head chef at Luca, one of London’s most-loved Italian restaurants, where his focus is on giving beautiful British produce a sprinkle of Italian magic
See more of Robert Chambers’s recipes
Ingredients
- 300g peeled squash or pumpkin, diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- a few sprigs of thyme
To serve
- 4 tbsp light oil
- 1 x 300g pack Rana original pan-fry gnocchi
- 40g butter
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 6 sage leaves
- 12-16 medium sized leaves cavolo nero, stems removed
- 60g gorgonzola dolce (at room temperature) - use vegetarian cheese if required
- 2 tbsp walnuts, chopped
For the salsa di noci
- 140g walnuts
- 35g slightly stale crustless white bread, torn
- 150ml milk, plus extra if needed
- 15g Parmesan, grated - use vegetarian cheese if required
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ garlic clove, crushed
- ½ tsp creamed horseradish sauce
- squeeze of lemon juice
Step by step
Get ahead
Roast the squash and make the salsa di noci the day before; chill overnight and bring back to room temperature to serve.
Use leftover salsa di noci as a dressing for a winter salad with cold roast turkey or chicken.
Use leftover salsa di noci as a dressing for a winter salad with cold roast turkey or chicken.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Toss the squash, oil and thyme together, then season. Wrap in a loose foil parcel, place on a baking tray and cook for 35 minutes or until tender. Cool.
- For the salsa di noci, place the walnuts in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil then drain, to remove bitterness. Soak the bread in the milk for 10 minutes or so to soften.
- Tip the bread and milk into a processor, add the walnuts and remaining ingredients, plus seasoning. Blend for 1 minute until quite loose; it should run off a spoon. Add a splash more milk if necessary.
- To finish, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, and place a large frying pan on a medium heat. Heat the oil and fry the gnocchi for 2 minutes.
- Add the butter, pumpkin seeds and sage to the gnocchi and fry for 2 minutes more, making sure to keep it all moving. Add the roasted squash and a twist of pepper. Mix together in the pan for a few minutes so that the flavours meld, then drain in a colander and discard the oil.
- Add the cavolo nero to the pan of water and blanch for 2 minutes, then drain well. Warm four pasta bowls.
- To serve, place a dollop of the salsa di noci in each bowl then divide the gnocchi and squash among them. Add 2-3 teaspoons of gorgonzola on top of each serving, along with a drizzle of extra salsa di noci. Finish with the cavolo nero and chopped walnuts.
