Perfect Pairing: Pumpkin & walnut gnocchi

Venice and the Veneto have been part of my life since childhood. I was 11 the first time I visited Venice. I know the province of Verona well – it’s where the radicchio my father exported was grown. Food connected me to the Veneto as a child, and it still does now, as I teach at a cookery school in the Dolomite foothills of Treviso three times a year. To be able to visit so often, and to cook with the region’s magical ingredients, is a privilege and pleasure. The cooking of the seven provinces of Veneto is as diverse as the landscapes of the region – from the snowy peaks of the Pre-Alps to the coastal marshes and lagoons. The recipes and essays in my book offer a glimpse of this captivating region.

Pumpkin & walnut gnocchi

I first encountered this splendid dish in the cooler months of October and November in the Veneto. It truly celebrates the beautiful pumpkins and squash that are proudly displayed in Venice’s Rialto market. Be sure to cut the pumpkin with a very sharp knife.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2kg pumpkin or squash (make sure it’s firm)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 100g walnuts, plus extra to garnish if preferred
• 2 large eggs
• 1⁄2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 50g Italian ‘00’ flour, plus extra for dusting
• 50g potato flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g unsalted butter
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• generous handful of fresh sage leaves
• 200g Pecorino cheese, finely grated
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

2. Cut the pumpkin or squash in half horizontally and remove the seeds. Place each half on a baking sheet, then drizzle with oil and salt. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour until tender, depending on size. Set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, roast the walnuts for 10 minutes on a baking sheet in the oven, then finely chop.

4. Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin into bowl. Squeeze the flesh through a clean tea towel to remove any excess liquid. This ensures that the pumpkin has a strong, more intense flavour.

5. Place the squeezed pumpkin flesh on a clean work surface and mix in the walnuts, eggs, nutmeg, both of the flours and baking powder, and some salt and pepper. Mix well until fully combined. Divide the dough into walnut-sized portions and roll into 5cm-long pieces. Place them on a floured tray.

6. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil then drop in about 20 gnocchi. Lower the heat and cook gently for about 2-3 minutes, allowing the gnocchi to bob to the surface of the water and then counting for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Repeat the process with the remaining gnocchi.

7. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the garlic and cook gently until starting to soften. Add the sage leaves and cook until lightly golden, then remove the pan from the heat.

8. When all of the gnocchi are cooked, spoon the butter and sage over them. Serve the gnocchi sprinkled with Pecorino cheese and a few more walnuts.

Ursula Ferrigno is an acclaimed food writer and chef. She trained at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and has taught at leading cookery schools in both the UK and Italy, including Leiths School of Food and Wine. She is consultant chef to Caffè Nero, has made many appearances on BBC TV and has written more than 25 cookery books.

Cucina del Veneto: Delicious recipes from Venice & Northeast Italy by Ursula Ferrigno was published by Rylands Peters & Small in July 2024 (£22)

The wines to drink with pumpkin & walnut gnocchi

By Fiona Beckett

If you were going to devise a dish specifically to go with orange wine, this would be it. Pumpkins and walnuts are natural bedfellows for orange wines – from a perspective of colour as well as taste. The combination would really evoke autumn. However, given that the dish is inspired by a visit to the Rialto market in Venice, you might want to opt for an Italian white – I’d go for a Soave with a bit of bottle age, myself. Given the lavish quantities of butter and cheese, you could also try a rich Chardonnay or a white Côtes du Rhône or Languedoc white. Red wine would be perfectly fine, too, though for me a Valpolicella may be too light, or, in the case of the ripasso style, too sweet. A Lagrein or Teroldego from northeast Italy would be more interesting, or even a Chianti – always a good pairing for cheese. Or a typical Grenache Syrah-Mourvèdre blend from the southern Rhône, though a medium-bodied rather than an overly alcoholic one, given that this could be a starter.

Wines selected by our Decanter experts

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