Red Kuri Squash Gnocchi

Yes it's autumn people, and I happen to like this season, not particularly when the days are turning shorter, but there are some gorgeous colors out there for us to see, before nature goes to sleep. Too bad we can't follow nature and go to sleep aswell, but instead we get to spend more time inside, around a nice fire or (less romantic) close to the radiator, with some hearty dishes and recipe to help us get thru.

But I'm already a bit ahead, right now it's october, with it's fair share of nice days and beautiful light. October is also the month for breast cancer awareness, which is a topic I've blogged about before here, and most likely will again as long as this blog keeps going. This year in particular I feel like it's a duty to spread the word around, because I had my first mammography.

Before anyone asks, all is fine, thank you very much. I'm in my early 30's, but with a family history of cancer, so the doc prefered to make sure everything was ok. It wasn't the most fun day I ever had, but all the doc and nurses have been really nice. So all you women outhere, go and show your breasts for the good cause, if you have any doubts. And just for encouragement, let me show you mine:

So maybe a pink dish would have fitted this post better, but I happened to make those today. I love red kuri or Hokkaido squash, in soup or roasted, so I thought I'd do something different for a change. My gnocchi shaping skills still need to be perfected, but the combination with fresh chive, fleur de sel and parmesan is great, give it a try!

Red Kuri Squash Gnocchi

Serves 2

1 Red Kuri Squash
5 Heaped Tablespoons of Flour, plus extra for dusting
1 Egg
1/2 a Teaspoon of Ground Cloves
2 Tablespoons of Fresh Chive
1 Liter of Vegetable Broth
Freshly Shaved Parmesan
Salt, fleur de sel

Preheat you oven to 180°C.

Clean and then cut your squash in half, with a spoon remove all the seeds from it. Wrap each half in an aluminium foil and place them both in a dish going into the oven. Cook them for about 45 minutes.

When you take the dish out of the oven, leave the squash in the foil for a few minutes, it will be easier to peel. Once peeled, using a potato masher or a sieve, turn the squash flesh into a purée.
In a bowl, add an egg to the purée and start adding the flour, start with 3 tablespoons, and than add more if needed, it will depend on how much water there is in. You need to have something ressembling a brioche dough.

Flour generously your working surface and your hands. Take 1/4 of the dough and roll it out until it's about as thick as your thumb. using a sharp knife, cut the gnocchis out, about 2cm each.
Again using some extra flour, take each gnocchi, place it on a fork and press it down a little with your thumb to mark it, then roll it together in the shape of a miniature bread loaf. Place the gnocchi on a floured tray. Do the same with the whole dough.

In a pan, heat up the vegetable broth, and when it starts to bubble you can place, carefully, the gnocchi in the pan. Depending on its size you might need to make several batch. The gnocchis are done when they rise to the surface of the broth, drain them carefully and set aside.

You can reheat them in a non sticky frying pan, then to serve, sprinkle with the fresh chive, the fleur de sel and the shaved parmesan.