- Place a little olive oil in your hand then take the dough and roll it into a ball.
- Gently press it into your palm, using your thumb make a thumb print.
- Take it out of your palm, keeping it on your thumb mark it with a fork.
- Remove from thumb(if it sticks you need to use more oil on your hand or it got to thin.
- Pull two sides of the circle toward each other(the fork lines should be in the direction shown below(not like the ones in the picture above, but it doesn't really matter)
- Shape the outside edges of the gnocchi if you need to. It looks a bit like a sea shell.
- Place on baking sheet...repeat till the dough is gone.
- Brush the tops with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt/pepper
- Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. Don't over do it or they will dry out.
- Eat plain or arrange on a plate and drizzle with pesto, curry, brown butter, etc...
Gnocchi has been around since Roman times. It's name is derived from an Italian word meaning "knot in wood" or "knuckle". This wonderfully thick dumpling lends itself well to a variety of mediums such as semolina flour, white flour, potato, cheese, sweet potato, squash, bread crumbs and more. Some people like to add egg while others would never think of doing such a thing. However you take it...Gnocchi is the BEST! So a few weeks ago, I began my journey to find a grain free and potato free medium for this wonderful food.
After much research and experimentation, I finally landed on butternut squash and almond flour. I must say this combination makes for a really power packed high protein gnocchi. Just 8 of these little guys pack a approximately 14 grams of protein! They are wonderfully thick without being too dense and the fragrant rosemary and basil give give the gnocchi a savory brightness that makes you keep wanting more. As it turns out, I might even like this gnocchi better than the more traditional versions that I've had. Of course some may say it is not "real gnocchi", I say, enjoy it for what it is...Really GOOD! These make a great snack with nothing else on them or as a dinner drizzled with a sauce. Pan frying leftovers is wonderful too. Even your kids will love them!
A word on working with squash:
Squash can be a finicky thing. Not one of them is like the other. You will find that each one cooks up in a different way. After cooking your squash, if it comes out a bit to watery you will need to squeeze some of the water out of it (use a cheese cloth or flour sack towel) This is not usually necessary but depending on the season it can be a problem. Due to this you may also need to use more or less almond flour.
VEGAN option: These can be made egg free. All you need to to is add a little water if the butternut squash is real dry. They turn out great even with out the egg.
Baked Rosemary, Almond Flour & Butternut Squash Gnocchi
(gluten/Dairy Free)
About 1/2 pound butternut squash roasted 1/2 -3/4 cups cooked squash)
3 cups of finely ground almond flour
3 cups of finely ground almond flour
1 egg yolk (egg adds richness & body bit can be omitted, replace with more squash)
1 tsp salt
1/2 TBLS or more of each: Fresh rosemary and basil chopped real fine
Optional: mashed roasted garlic (I pan roast mine)
Directions:
Work all the all ingredients till they are well mixed then form into a ball. The dough might be slightly sticky but it should hold together well. Add more or less AF as needed. Coat with a bit of olive oil and place in a covered bowl. Chill till firm enough handle and shape. AF amounts may vary depending on the texture and water content of the squash.
Making the Gnocchi:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (these gnocchi are baked, if you boil them they will disintegrate)
On a lightly oiled surface, take the ball of dough and carefully begin to make a roll out of it (like when you make a snake with play-dough). Work carefully, you want it to be about 1 1/2 inches thick. Oil your hands as needed.
This method below will give you the most consistent size of gnocchi. However sometimes I just grab pieces from the big ball of dough (about the size of a large grape) and start shaping, skipping the whole rolling and measuring out process. Find what works for you:
Mark and cut the dough into equal parts. How many you get will depend on the size of gnocchi you want. I measure mine so that when I cut them they make a ball about the size of a large grape. This gives me about 45 gnocchi per batch.
Instructions on how to shape the gnocchi: