Fall is here!! Shout it from the rooftops! My favorite season has finally arrived this year! WHOO HOO! Nothing says Fall like butternut squash and sage. That is why this roasted butternut squash gnocchi with pancetta and sage is one of my favorite Fall dishes.
Truly I love everything about Fall in the Midwest. I was talking to my sister the other day and realized we are spoiled at Fall here in the Midwest. We really have the most gorgeous Fall’s. We have leaves changing colors from bright greens to deep, rich red, oranges and yellows. I love that the air turns a little crisp and cool. We have apple picking and pumpkin farms. I really believe it is the most beautiful and most tasty season we get all year.
In the Fall, we get to start roasting and stewing and braising and slow cooking. Not to mention football season with chili and the Best Homemade Soft Pretzels. I mean really, this season is filled with amazing fashion, cooler weather, tons to do and the best eats! This roasted butternut squash gnocchi with pancetta and sage fits in perfectly to everything that is wonderful in Fall.
Why I love to roast butternut squash
Roasting butternut squash is a great time saving way to get a lot of flavor into the squash without doing a lot of work. It’s also a super flavorful technique. I have found that you can cut up your squash, or now a days even get it already diced. Then you can put it on a sheet pan with any sort of aromatics and boom, 20 minutes later, you are either ready to eat it or use it.
If you are anything like me, you want to use all of the tips and tricks that you can in the kitchen to impart a lot of flavor without having to do a lot of extra work. In this roasted butternut squash gnocchi with pancetta and sage recipe, you will literally roast the squash with hers, garlic and even the pancetta. So, really when it is done being roasted, it is ready just as it. I love to puree it for the sauce, but you could use it just out of the oven too.
Why pancetta and not bacon?
I actually do love bacon with butternut squash too. It definitely has it’s place in the squash world. For this recipe though, I like the more delicate flavor of the pancetta. The pancetta also is slightly less crispy and not as overpowering. Just the simple fact that bacon and pancetta are almost the same, the only difference really being that bacon is smoked. So, that smoky flavor can tend to take over a little bit. Yet, if you only have bacon on hand, you can for sure use that instead of the pancetta.
Pancetta two ways, sage two ways…
For this roasted butternut squash gnocchi with pancetta and sage, I like to use both the sage and the pancetta in two different ways. The pancetta I roast on the pan with the squash as well as crisping it in a pan for garnish. With the sage, I like to chop some up really fine and add it to the puree as well as crisp some in a pan for garnish. When you fry sage, or any herb really, it brings out all of the natural oil and gives a very intense flavor.
What you will need for roasted butternut squash gnocchi with pancetta and sage
This is a recipe that may not be as heavily reliant on your pantry ingredients. Yet, nothing in this recipe is hard to find or difficult to use. It is also all things you will use for this recipe and either use again for Fall foods or go through in this recipe. So, you will not have miscellaneous ingredients leftover wondering what to make with them now.
Butternut Squash- I like to buy my squash whole and peel it and dice it into a medium dice for roasting. A lot of grocery stores today sell it already diced. Which if you are more comfortable, get that
Pancetta- I like to buy mine at the local deli and get it sliced thin. Yet, again, a lot of stores sell this prepackaged and already sliced. That would work here too
Garlic- Whole cloves of garlic work best here. I like to just give them a little smash and roast them up too. It sweetens the end result
Thyme- You want to use fresh thyme here. You will add it on the tray for roasted whole. At the end of roasting, you can discard it. Some of the leaves with remain
Shallots-Â I like to roasted them on the sheet pan with the squash as well. They will soften and sweeten as they roast
Gnocchi-Â You can use store bought or homemade here, but made sure they are the potato ones. The ricotta ones will not holdup as nicely to this sauce
Vegetable Stock-Â This is to help smooth and thin the puree. Otherwise, you can use water or chicken stock. I just like the flavor of the vegetable stock.
Heavy Cream-Â If you want you can use 1/2 and 1/2 here as well. I like the thickness and the richness of the heavy cream in the sauce, but either will work
Sage-Â As mentioned above, I like to chop this fine and add it to the puree as well as fry some leaves for garnish. Both ways add a slightly different flavor and both are fantastic with the squash and pancetta
Kosher Salt-Â Always
Freshly Cracked black pepper- Freshly cracked just tastes better to me, but use what you have on hand
Freshly Grated Parmesan cheese-Â This is the perfect ending to this dish
Equipment you will use for this recipe
There is not too much needed here. Just some kitchen essentials. You will need a good sheet pan for roasting your squash ingredients. Then you will want a good pot to boil the gnocchi. I love to use a hand strainer or a spider strainer to remove the gnocchi from the water. Make sure you have a good skillet for the sauce and to toss the gnocchi all together. That is really it.
Pots I use for pasta– I like the handles especially on these pots for pasta. It is also nice that is has a strainer lid for other pastas
Chef’s Tips
The biggest thing to remember when cooking butternut squash in general is that it can take big flavors. So, do not be afraid to season it aggressively. Adding the salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, shallots and even pancetta to the roasting process with really flavor the squash a ton. When it comes out of the oven, make sure you give it just a few minutes to cool. You want to puree it when it is still quite warm so that you do not end up with a gummy paste.
The starches in the squash can get tougher as they cool. So, if you puree when it is still quite warm, you will get a smoother puree. Also, it is better to add a little more stock if it starts to get too thick on you. You an always cook out the extra moisture in the pan when you are simmering the puree before you add the gnocchi.
Last, but not least, make sure that you do not over cook your gnocchi. You will be cooking them for a minute or two in the sauce. So, make sure you pull them from the boiling water when they are almost done. This will make sure that they do not become mush in the sauce.
If you love this roasted butternut squash gnocchi with pancetta and sage, you will also love these recipes
Homemade Gnocchi with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce
Roasted Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Pancetta and Sage
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded and medium diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 1/4 lb thinly sliced pancetta
- 1 small shallot peeled and rough chopped
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- Olive oil for roasting
- 1 cup vegetable stock more if needed
- 1 bunch sage half chopped fine and half of the leaves an fried for garnish
- 14-12/ cup heavy cream
- 1 lb potato gnocchi
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste
Instructions
- 1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. But the squash into a medium dice, peel and smash the garlic. Peel and roughly chop the shallot and then lay everything together on a small sheet pan. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay the slices of the pancetta over the squash and add a few of the thyme branches over the top as well.
- Roast in the oven for 15-25 minutes or until softened, but not browned too much. Toss them every 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool, just slightly so that you can handle it.
- When the squash is still quite hot, add it to the bowl of a blender. Remove the pancetta and the thyme before adding the squash to the blender. Discard the thyme. The pancetta you will crisp up in the pan before simmering the puree.
- In the blender add the squash, garlic, shallots and vegetable stock. Puree until smooth.
- In a skillet, brown the pancetta until crisp, remove onto a paper towel lined plate to dry an excess grease. Leave the drippings in the pan for the puree. Add in the puree and let it come to a simmer. In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the gnocchi. Once the water is boiling, add in the gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Once the puree is boiling, add in the heavy cream and chopped sage. Mix to combine and check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper if needed. Once the gnocchi is cooked, add it into the puree mixture and simmer all together for another 1-2 minutes.
- In a separate pan, lightly pan fry the sage leaves for garnish and finely chop the pancetta. Pour the gnocchi into a serving dish and garnish with the fried sage, chopped pancetta and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately, Enjoy!
