Spinach Gnocchi with creamy pumpkin sauce

I came across this lovely (and simple!) recipe for Spinach Gnocchi from The God’s Cake and decided today would be the perfect day to test it out. I had a bunch of spinach and a bag of potatoes sitting in the fridge , begging to be used and since I had all the time in the world to make it, why not? After taking out the ingredients, I also came across a small pumpkin I forgot I had bought earlier that week so I quickly took that out, deciding to make a creamy pumpkin sauce to go with the gnocchi.

For the Spinach Gnocchi:

600g Potatoes

350g Spinach

150g Plain Flour

1 egg yolk

Salt

Pepper

Method:

1. Peel, cut into quarters and boil the potato until soft and tender.

2. Drain, cool and mash. Set aside.

3. Cut the ends off the spinach, wash and then boil quickly for 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse in ice cold water. Then squeeze out all the  moisture from the leaves. Finely chop.

4. Mix the Spinach, mashed potato, egg yolk, flour, salt and pepper together until well combined.

5.  Dusting hands with flour, take small amounts of the potato mixture and roll into small round balls. Place on a floured tray.

6. Once all the mixture has been rolled into balls, take a fork, dust it lightly with flour, and press lightly onto the tops of the balls.

7. In a large pan,  heat water until just before boiling point and then quickly turn down to simmer. Gently place gnocchi balls into the water, 8- 10 at a time so that there’s room for them to move around (which they will!)

8. You will know when the gnocchi is cooked as they will float to the top of the water. Scoop out and drain.

For the Pumpkin Sauce:

400-450g of pumpkin (your choice) , peeled, chopped and steamed until soft. Mash.

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

75g of cheese (your choice)

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tsp chopped parsley

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 stalk Green onion, finely chopped

1 tsp olive oil

salt

pepper

Method:

1. In a small saucepan, heat 1tsp of Olive oil.

2. Place chopped garlic and green onion and saute for 1-2 minutes until soft.

3. Place in the mashed pumpkin and mix.

4. Add Milk, cream, herbs, parsley and stir until well mixed and creamy.

5. slowly add in the cheese (in small amounts) making sure to continue stirring.

6. Set to simmer for 3-4 minutes until small bubbles start to form on the surface and mixture has thickened slightly.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

8. Gently fold in the cooked gnocchi.

9. Serve.