Butternut Squash Gnocchi

This original recipe is from Kristin Cavallari's recipe book 'True Comfort' but after the first time I made it, I decided to add & take away a number of ingredients to make it my own and I made it a completely different way than she does. In a way, it's a combination of our minds...experiment & reinvent! This is SUPER labor intensive so if you're searching for a meal you can take your time with on a Sunday, this is a good one for that.

Ingredients:

(2) Butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise & pureed

4 cups+ gluten free oat flour (I usually make my own oat flour to save money by throwing steel cut oats in a bullet & grinding them down into a four-like substance)

1 cup manchego cheese 

1 egg

Salt & pepper

Parsley, basil, oregano

Optional: spaghetti sauce or olive oil, garlic & Italian seasoning to sauté gnocchi once prepared, red wine - strictly for enjoyment while making this delicious meal!

Making the gnocchi:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Start by cutting the squash in half lengthwise. Brush the inside of the squash halves with a little olive oil, salt & pepper. Place squash halves open side down on an ungreased baking sheet for 40-50 minutes or until you can poke a fork through the skin. Take a sip of wine.

3. Meanwhile, grind the steel cut oats in a magic bullet (unless if you bought oat flour already, you can skip this part!)

4. Place 2 cups of the oat flour in a large mixing bowl, add the manchego, salt, pepper, parsley, basil & oregano to taste. Stir everything together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients & add the egg to the mixture but don't mix yet.

5. Once the butternut squash has baked until softened, scrape out the insides into a food processor, puree & place in a large bowl. You may have to do this a few times in order to get all the squash pureed. Wine sip.

6. Once all the squash is pureed, slowly add it into the oat flour mixture.  Start mixing it together using your hands. Add more oat flour to the mixture as needed (at least 2 more cups) and continue mixing with your hands until it barely sticks to your hands & starts resembling dough.

7. Prepare a separate baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper to place the prepared gnocchi. Wine sip.

8. Sprinkle oat flour on an open countertop. Take a chunk of the dough into your hands and start rolling it on the counter to make a rope-like shape. (My ropes usually end up about 2 feet long or so and they're about 3/4" thick.)

9. Once you have a 'rope', use a paring knife to cut the dough into 1" or so portions, then place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Continue until all the dough has been cut.

10. Take a couple sips of wine, you've made a lot of progress! Now, bring, a large pot of water to a boil. With a slotted spoon, add gnocchi to boiling water (20-30 pieces can usually cook at the same time, depending on the size of your pot). In about 3-4 minutes, the gnocchi will float to the top, that's when you know they're done! 

11. Remove the floating gnocchi from the boiling water and either place them in a bowl with your prepared sauce, sauté them with olive oil,  garlic & Italian seasoning or try something new!

12. Pour more wine!

***The gnocchi freezes very well...when I make 2 squash I have a ton of leftovers (since it's just me and my man) so I prepare them like above and freeze them in an air tight container.