Lucy says: “It was during the creation of this particular dish that I pondered my cheese-consumption levels. While this book is vegetarian and relies on a bounty of beautiful vegetables, I can’t and happily don’t claim that it’s light on anything really – flavour especially. As it turns out, the cheese ratio is very well balanced with all the lemon, garlic and fresh things. Of course you could omit the cheese, but then that is, perhaps, another story…”

Serves 4

Ingredients

800g (1lb 12oz) Kent pumpkin (squash), peeled and cut into 4cm (1½ inch) chunks
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 egg yolk
½ cup (50g) finely grated parmesan
pinch of ground nutmeg
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
1½ cups (220g) plain (all-purpose) flour
260g (9¼oz) tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
2 tablespoons single (pure) cream
2 tablespoons white wine
40 sage leaves
150g (5½oz) blue cheese, coarsely chopped
150g (5½oz) mozzarella, coarsely chopped

For the salad:

2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 small pears, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
120g (4¼oz) rocket (arugula)
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Optional ingredients:

parmy on the salad

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) fan-forced.

Toss the chopped pumpkin with 2 tablespoons olive oil and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 40 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges and soft.

Mash the cooled pumpkin in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg yolk, parmy and nutmeg and stir with a fork until just combined. Season, then add 1 cup (150 g) of flour, gradually adding more and stirring until the dough is just not sticky. Don’t over-stir: you don’t want to activate the flour. The dough should remain soft.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently. Divide the dough into 6–8 balls, then roll each one into a 1.5 cm (⅝ inch) thick log. Cut each log into 1cm (½ inch) sections so you have little puffy pillow rectangles.*

Grease a tray with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place it next to your stovetop, ready to catch the gnocchi. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a rapid simmer.

Poach about 20 gnocchi at a time. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon when they float to the top – around 1 minute – and place on the oiled tray.

In the base of a large baking dish, place 1 tablespoon olive oil, the passata, cream, white wine and half the sage leaves and mix together. Nestle the gnocchi in, then top with the remaining sage and cheeses.

Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a salad bowl, combine the honey and red wine vinegar and toss the pear in the mixture until it’s coated. Just before serving, add the olive oil, rocket and parmesan. Season with S+P and toss well.

Note:

If you make more than you need, freeze the leftovers for another time. They’ll keep for a few months in an airtight container. Throw frozen gnocchi straight into boiling water and cook as above.

From Every Night of the Week Veg: Meat Free Beyond Monday; A Zero-tolerance Approach To Bland by Lucy Tweed (£18.99, Murdoch Books), out now

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