I originally created Pumpkin Gnocchi with Collard Greens for a family Thanksgiving dinner. In 2020, my students and I are going to make this dish as the Primo for our upcoming Halloween Italian Cooking Class/Pop Up Supper Club in Support of the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry.
Ingredients:
- 16 large collard green leaves
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 red chilies, minced
- 18 oz package of pumpkin gnocchi
- 8 oz package of shaved or grated Italian cheese (Parmesan, Romano , Asiago or a mixture)
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Prep:
- Remove the stems from the collard greens. Cut the leaves into strips.
- Dice the onion
- Strip the leaves off the oregano and thyme stems
- Mince the garlic and chilies
Cook:
- Coat a large stainless steel skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place on medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, chilies, oregano and thyme. Saute until golden brown.
- Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- Add the collard greens and stir. Let the collard greens wilt for 2 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Then turn off the heat and cover with a lid while you cook the gnocchi.
- Coat a large non-stick skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place on medium high heat. Add the pumpkin gnocchi and cook until brown on all sides. Toss the gnocchi gently with a plastic or silicone spoon so that all sides get brown without bruising the delicate gnocchi.
- Add the browned gnocchi to the cooked collard greens. Add half the cheese and gently toss everything together.
- Plate the dish. Sprinkle with additional cheese . Serve with a glass of Chianti or any red wine you like.
I served this as a side dish at Thanksgiving. Also for those who don’t eat meat, it serves as a yummy and satisfying main dish.
If you can’t find pumpkin gnocchi, you can use another flavor.
Hope you enjoy!!!
cookingwithloveandspices 
This looks awesome! Can’t wait to make it and give it a try….
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Let me know how it turns out.
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What is pumpkin gnocchi?
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In Italian cooking, gnocchi are small dumplings made from mashed potatoes, egg, cheese , and wheat flour, semolina or cornmeal. The dough is rolled out , cut into small pieces and gently pressed with a fork to make indentations that can hold the sauce. You don’t have to make your own gnocchi. You can buy it. I bought this one from our local Bastrop HEB. This one is made with 55% pumpkin, 45% potato and the remainder of the ingredients are small amounts of wheat flour, eggs and cheese. Buy any flavor you like. The pumpkin is seasonal for the fall and winter.
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This looks delicious but is there any gnocchi that would be gluten free? Or could I substitute a gluten free pasta, like penne?
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Thanks. Yes you can substitute any short gluten free pasta. I am sure if you looked on-line you could find a gluten free gnocchi. But go ahead and use any short pasta you like.
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I looked on-line. They are a wide variety of gluten free gnocchi available. I found a brand that Walmart carries. You can either buy it at the store in Bastrop or order it on-line and have it delivered to Walmart where you can pick it up.
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Thank you for the information….I love greens and I love pumpkin so this combination sounds interesting. …
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Great. Let me know how it turns out when you make it.
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