Gnocchi are a delicious alternative to pasta. They are traditionally made from potato, but pumpkin makes a delicious and nutritious change.

Ingredients:

I medium butternut pumpkin
1/2 cup savoury yeast flakes/nutritional yeast
2 cups (approximately) wholemeal plain flour

1 recipe Coriander Pesto or other pasta sauce of choice.

Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with a silicon baking mat or baking paper.

Cut pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and place pumpkin halves, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until a sharp knife easily pierces the skin and penetrates the flesh. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Scoop pumpkin flesh into a large mixing bowl, and mash with savoury yeast flakes. Stir in 1/2 cup flour at a time, until mixture is able to be formed into a soft dough. Mixture should still be a little sticky to the touch; too much flour will make the gnocchi dense and heavy.

On a floured board, roll roughly 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time into a rope about 1.5 cm in diameter. Cut into 3 cm pieces with a sharp knife. Place prepared gnocchi on a plate covered with a damp tea towel until you have finished rolling and cutting all the dough.

Optional: Press each side of the prepared gnocchi onto a fork to mark them with ridges.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add gnocchi, return to the boil, and cook until 2-3 minutes after the gnocchi start rising to the surface.

You can remove one to test that it’s cooked all the way through.

When cooked, remove pot from the heat and tip into a colander to drain. Serve with Coriander Pesto or any other pasta sauce that you prefer.