Lately, I have been craving all things pumpkin... typical for this time of year right? So when I caught an episode of Martha Stewart during my final week of fall travel... AND she was making a pumpkin entree, I knew I had hit the jackpot.
Mr. E and I had this for dinner on Saturday night along with an argula salad with toasted pumpkin seeds (from the whole pumpkin I baked for the pumpkin gnocchi) and it was delicious... and luckily we have leftovers!
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
* 1 small sugar pumpkin (2 pounds), stem removed, halved lengthwise, and seeded
* 2 cups flour, plus more for work surface (I ended up using about 3 cups total)
* Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg, plus more for serving
* 1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 shallots, finely chopped
* 20 medium chanterelle mushrooms, trimmed or regular white button mushrooms
* 8 fresh sage leaves or 1 Tablespoon dried sage
* 1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
* 1 cup half and half
* 2 T cornstarch
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pumpkin halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet and fill each with 1 tablespoon water. Cover each half with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil. Transfer to oven and roast until soft, about 45 minutes. Let cool. Scrape pumpkin flesh from skin; discard skin.
2. Mound flour in center of a large work surface; add 1 tablespoon salt and the nutmeg. Using a fork, mix until well combined. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add 2 cups pumpkin and 1 cup grated cheese to well. Slowly incorporate flour, beginning with inner rim of well. When flour is incorporated, gather dough together to form a rounded mass; knead mixture until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter; cut into 1/2-inch-long pieces. Transfer gnocchi to a baking sheet and cover with a clean, damp towel. Repeat process until all the dough has been used.
4. Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Generously salt water and return to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook until they rise to the top, about 4 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat and add butter and shallots. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until shallots are golden. Add mushrooms and sage; cook, stirring, for about 10 seconds. Add 1/4 cup pumpkin, chicken stock, heavy cream, and 1/4 cup grated cheese; cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper and add cornstarch slowly until sauce begins to thicken.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to skillet and toss to combine. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan and nutmeg.
From The Martha Stewart Show, November 2008 but altered by Mrs. E, October 2009 (Having made this once as a lower fat version from what Martha proposed, I think I could make it again but even lower fat--use 2% milk and only 1/2 cup of butter to saute the shallots and mushrooms)

