Fall Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Brown Butter, Pancetta & Sage (2024)

About The Brown Butter Sauce

Brown butter is not only a flavorful, nutty and slightly sweet sauce for pasta, it’s extremely easy to make and comes together quickly. The brown butter or “beurre noisette” is made when the water cooks out and the milk solids toast and turn golden brown.

When making brown butter use a light-bottomed pan if possible. That way you can see the shade of brown the mixture is turning. If you are not careful, once the milk solids separate the butter can brown quickly. To avoid this remove it from the pan immediately.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

• Gnocchi –Rather than using homemade gnocchi in this recipe I take a shortcut and use packaged, store-bought potato gnocchi. Feel free to substitute with your favorite homemade gnocchi recipe.
• Pancetta –Pancetta comes from pork belly and is salted, seasoned, cured and aged for an extended period of time. Pancetta is similar to bacon in flavor though not as smokey.It can be substituted for bacon, speck or guanciale in this recipe. The rendered fat from the pancetta is combined with the brown butter sauce to add additional flavor.
• Butternut squash – Butternut squash has a sweet nutty taste similar to pumpkin. The flavor is complimented by therich brown butter and salty pancetta in this recipe. The dense squash has flavor similar to sweet potatoes or pumpkin.
• Sage – Fresh sage leaves are fried in the butter until they are crisp while also enhancing the brown butter with herby flavor.

How to Make Fall Gnocchi

1. Roast the squash. Preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC). In a large mixing bowl toss the butternut squash with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet. Roast until tender and lightly browned, about 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Cook the pancetta. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, cook the pancetta until most of the fat has rendered and the pancetta is brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Boil the gnocchi. Bring a large pot of water to the boil; add the salt and bring back to the boil. Pour in the gnocchi and cook, until they rise to the top, about 3 minutes. Drain the gnocchi and return to the pot.
4. Make the brown butter. Return the medium sauté pan to the heat over medium. Add the butter and allow to melt. Once melted add the sage then continue to cook the butter, swirling it around the pan occasionally, until the butter is toasty-brown color and has a nutty aroma. Once this happens immediately remove the brown butter to a small bowl. Set the sage aside on a plate.
5. Assemble and serve. Pour the brown butter over the gnocchi, stirring to combine. Add the butternut squash and pancetta and stir again, then season with salt and pepper. Top with the sage and finish with a squeeze of the lemon juice. Serve in warmed pasta bowls.

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this gnocchi recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:

• Baked Sausage and Kale Baked Gnocchi
• Breakfast Gnocchi
• Pan-Fried Ricotta Gnocchi
• Roast Chicken and Gnocchi “Dumplings”

PrintPin

Serves 4