Pumpkin Gnocchi

The amount of flour you need to make the dough will vary depending on how moist your pumpkin or winter squash is. 

Ingredients:
1 cup of puréed cooked pumpkin 
1 cup ricotta 
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3-4 cups cake flour

Instructions:  
 
Mix the pumpkin puree, ricotta, parmesan, eggs and salt together in a large bowl. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix well with your hands. The dough should be very sticky, impossible to work with. Add another half cup of flour and mix that in — you want the dough to still be pretty sticky, but pliable enough to shape into a large log. If it's not, keep adding a little flour at a time until you can get a soft dough that will be able to be rolled into a log. It should never require more than 4 cups of flour. Cover the dough with a damp towel.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add enough salt to it so that the water tastes salty. Let this simmer while you make the gnocchi.

To make the gnocchi, spread some flour on a large work surface and have more flour ready. Cut the dough log into four equal pieces. Take one piece and cut it in half. Roll the piece of dough into a snake about a half inch thick, and then cut it into pieces about the thickness of a fork.

Dust the gnocchi with a little flour, and then use one finger to push the dumpling up onto the tines of a fork.  Let the gnocchi drop back to the work surface. This makes the dumpling a little thinner and lighter, and it creates depressions and ridges that sauce can hold onto.

Repeat this process with the other pieces of dough and then, using a metal spatula, gently pick up a few gnocchi at a time and drop them into the water. Increase the heat to a rolling boil. Boil these gnocchi until they float, then remove them with a slotted spoon or spider skimmer. Lay the cooked gnocchi on a baking sheet and toss with a little olive oil so they don't stick together.

It is important to boil gnocchi in small batches so they don't stick to each other.