Butternut Squash Gnocchi Mac N Cheese
Recipes

Butternut Squash Gnocchi Mac N Cheese

Don't let the ingredients list intimidate you - this recipe is worth it :-)

by Sami Udell

Ingredients

For the Gnocchi:

2 lbs butternut squash (1 cup butternut squash puree)

1 egg yolks 

½ cup of flour (depending on the wetness of the butternut squash you may need additional flour)

1 cup Sizzle

For the Cheese Sauce:

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup cheddar or jalapeno white cheddar, shredded

½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded

¼ cup gruyere cheese, shredded

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp onion powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp nutmeg

For the Topping 

Any stale bread 

2 tbsp chives

1 tbsp espelette pepper or paprika

¼ cup piave cheese or parmesan 

4 tbsp Sizzle

For Garnish

¼ cup fresh sage

½ cup Drizzle

Equipment

Food processor 

Ricer 

Cast iron skillet 

Blender

Instructions

Active Time: 2 hrs

Full Time: 3 hrs

Serves 8
1

For the cheese sauce—heat 1 cup of heavy cream and add all of the cheeses. Mix and melt the cheese.

2

Transfer it all to a blender and blend until smooth and then add in garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and black pepper.

3

To make the gnocchi—heat oven to 400 degrees. Slather your butternut squash generously with Sizzle and roast it whole for 1.5 hours or until completely tender and soft to the touch.

4

While still hot, cut the squash open and scoop the meat, avoiding the seeds. Pass the butternut squash though the ricer.

5

Cool down the butternut squash lightly so the egg yolk doesn't curdle. Once cooled, dust the butternut squash with half of the flour and make a well/hole in the center.

6

Add the egg yolk and whisk the egg briefly. Then slowly start incorporating everything with a rubber spatula in a spiral motion. Add more flour and incorporate it until it becomes a dough. It will slowly become more solid and less wet.

7

Once the dough comes together, you want to be able to form a ball and it should come clean off the sides of the bowl. If the texture is too wet, add more flour and continue incorporating until the perfect dough consistency.

8

Once you can form a ball effortlessly, separate the ball into quarter chunks.

9

Roll the chunks into skinny log shapes 1 inch wide and cut 1⁄2 inch inch pieces. Imprint your thumb to make a cute stamp in the center, and there you have it—gnocchi! Transfer the squares to a lightly floured surface. Repeat with all of the dough.

10

For the bread crumb topping—cut the stale bread into chunks and toss extremely generously with Sizzle. Roast on a sheet pan at 400 degrees until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes.

11

Grind the bread crumbs in a food processor and then add chives, piave cheese, and espelette pepper.

12

To bring it all together—bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the gnocchi in batches. Once the pieces float to the surface after about a minute, remove and mix with the cheese sauce.

13

You can make the gnocchi in a cast iron skillet. Once the gnocchi is mixed with the cheese sauce, add some fresh white cheddar on top and broil the dish for 2-3 minutes on high until bubbly and golden brown.

14

You can fry the sage in advance. Simply heat some Sizzle util it's hot and add the sage. Watch it and make sure it’s not turning too brown, but lightly golden. Remove from the oil and use for topping. It should only take less than a minute to get crispy fried sage.

15

Take the mac and cheese out of the oven and top generously with the bread crumbs, fried sage, and Drizzle!