Crispy Pan Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

This quick and easy recipe for crispy pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce makes my take on the classic Northern Italian pasta. We use shelf-stable pumpkin gnocchi instead of fresh gnocchi for texture and crunch, and while the brown butter sage sauce is authentic, we bump up the sage for more flavour and fragrance.

If you’re looking for a speedy simple meal for dinner after lots of cooking, try this cosy comforting pasta that comes together quickly. One of our best pasta recipes, this crispy pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce recipe makes a classic Northern Italian pasta with a couple of tweaks and it can be on the table in 15 minutes.

The weather here in Australia is nuts. After sweating in the sultry heat over (most of) the holidays, nibbling on the likes of smoked trout blini topped with caviar, and peeling chilled cooked prawns, which we’d dunk into dipping sauces, we found ourselves slipping on cardigans (again) in cool autumn-like temperatures, which called for pasta.

As I’ll soon be spending a couple of days prepping Russian Orthodox Christmas food, including making Russian dumplings, that meant I had to make one of our warming yet quick and easy pasta recipes. This recipe for crispy pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce came to mind, which is when I realised I hadn’t shared it with you all before.

Before I tell you more about this pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce recipe, if you’re looking for more quick and easy pasta recipes, try our creamy tomato pasta sauce with gnocchi, penne Bolognese recipe for a ‘cheat’s Bol’, my asparagus, mushrooms and bacon gnocchi, cherry tomato feta pasta, this bacon and mushroom pasta, my canned tuna pasta with scallions, capers and fresh herbs, and lemon pasta recipe for pasta al limone.

If you’re a gnocchi lover, try this pan fried gnocchi with broccoli and bacon, my asparagus, mushrooms and bacon gnocchi, this creamy tomato pasta sauce with gnocchi recipe, basil pesto with gnocchi recipe, and this creamy leek and bacon gnocchi recipe. If you’re looking for more cooking inspiration, we have many hundreds of recipes from around the world in our archives, and note that you can save your favourites by clicking on the heart on the right of any post to create your own private account.

Now let me tell you more about this pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce recipe.

Pan Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

You’ve probably eaten pan fried gnocchi with brown butter and sage sauce or gnocchi burro bruno e salvia if you’ve travelled around Northern Italy, especially if you’ve been to Italy‘s romantic Verona, which Italians call the ‘city of gnocchi’, then you might have tucked into a bowl of pumpkin gnocchi or gnocchi di zucca with a brown butter sage sauce.

Italians don’t sit around making homemade pasta all day, although a stay-at-home nonna or passionate home cook might very well do so on a weekend, for a family meal or special occasion. But many busy Italians will call into a shop specialising in handmade pasta called a pastificio on their way home from work.

Verona has many of these wonderful pasta shops that sell all kinds of fresh pasta, from tortellini and ravioli to gnocchi, as well as dried pastas and pasta sauces, and some of these artisanal makers are centuries old, starting out as humble artisanal pasta makers that have developed their small family businesses into global companies over time.

Italians are the masters of invention and it was the challenge of exporting gnocchi from Italy to the world that led to the development of vacuum packed fresh gnocchi and shelf stable gnocchi that you might find either in the dry pasta section or in a refrigerator in a supermarket, depending on the ingredients.

In Australia, for instance, the Verona-based Italian pasta company, Rana, makes hugely popular, high quality filled pasta and gnocchi that’s widely available in supermarkets here, including ‘pan-fry gnocchi’ in Australia and ‘skillet gnocchi’ in the USA, and you’ll find it in the cold section.

Now a major global company, Rana was started in Verona by Giovanni Rana, who joined the family bakery in 1950, before going out on his own in 1960 to make handmade pasta that he’d home-deliver on his motorbike, starting Pastifico Rana in 1962. It’s a fascinating story and there are other similar success stories.

Just a few tips to making this pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce recipe.

Tips to Making this Pan Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

I only have a few tips to making this pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce recipe, beginning with a note on the pumpkin gnocchi and sage. But first, my couple of tweaks to this Northern Italian classic?

In my experience eating our way around Northern Italy, researching and writing Northern Italy guidebooks, pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce is traditionally made with fresh handmade potato gnocchi (rather than shelf stable gnocchi) that’s boiled, scooped out of a pot of boiling water, and finished in the pan of brown butter sage sauce.

Secondly, only a few sage leaves are traditionally used in the brown butter sage sauce. Every time I’ve eaten this dish at a restaurant in Italy I’ve always wished there were more sage leaves in the sauce. So when I make it at home I add loads of sage leaves for more flavour and texture. But obviously, use less sage if you prefer.

Pumpkin Gnocchi and Sage

I’m going to share recipes for making fresh gnocchi, including pumpkin gnocchi, when I’m back home with Terence in our Siem Reap kitchen, as it’s far easier and more fun to make with someone else, but, as I said, this recipe calls for store-bought shelf-stable gnocchi.

You’ll find store-bought shelf-stable gnocchi in the refrigerator of a good supermarket, an Italian deli or a pasta shop, if you’re so lucky to have one near you. Here in Australia, there are quite a few Italian brands, including old Italian pasta companies which began as humble pasta-makers in Verona and other Northern Italian cities.

You’ll need fresh sage, not dried sage. I’ve included fresh sage leaves in the images in this post so you can see what it looks like if you don’t use it often. And I have to confess that as much as I love sage, I really use it, as we never see it in Cambodia and can’t even find the seeds (I’ll be taking some back). But it’s really available here in supermarkets in Australia.

Pan-Fry the Pumpkin Gnocchi

The first thing to do is pan-fry the pumpkin gnocchi. In a large lidded deep fry pan or skillet over medium-high, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter. Add the pumpkin gnocchi and give it a stir to ensure the gnocchi pieces are separated and fully coated in the oil and butter, then fry the gnocchi for a few minutes.

Use a wooden spoon to stir the gnocchi, which should have puffed up by now and be starting to crisp up and brown. Continue to stir the gnocchi for two or three more minutes until it’s mostly browned all over and even charred in places. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get the crunchy pieces off and stir them into the gnocchi.

Try a piece of the pasta. If the gnocchi is crispy and brown in parts on the outside and soft and fluffy within, then it’s ready. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside. If the gnocchi isn’t soft enough for you, put the lid on and put it back on the heat for another minute or so, then remove the lid and take the pan off the heat.

Make the Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Next you’ll make the brown butter sage sauce. It’s going to cook very quickly so don’t worry about the pan fried gnocchi temperature. Put a small or medium sized fry pan over medium-low heat, add the 100 grams of butter (use a good quality butter) and heat the butter until it melts and foams right up.

Add the fresh sage leaves to the butter, separate the leaves with a wooden spoon then leave the leaves to fry. The sage leaves will crisp up while the butter will begin to brown, and smell deliciously nutty.

When the foam begins to subside, immediately transfer the sage brown butter sauce to the pumpkin gnocchi pan, add salt and pepper, and stir to combine well. Taste, adjusting the seasoning as you like, and serve.

To Serve

Divide the pan fried pumpkin gnocchi and brown butter sage sauce between bowls, drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, and serve immediately with grated parmesan, more salt and pepper, and a simple side salad.

Pan Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Pan Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

AuthorLara Dunston

Our quick and easy recipe for crispy pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce makes our take on a classic Northern Italian pasta. We use shelf-stable pumpkin gnocchi instead of fresh pasta and while the brown butter sage sauce is authentic, we bump up the sage for more flavour and fragrance. It’s a warming, comforting pasta dish that comes together in 15 minutes.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course pasta, main course, lunch, dinner

Cuisine Italian

Servings made with recipeServings 4

Calories 496 kcal

Equipment

Deep Fry Pan

Slotted Spoon

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Pumpkin gnocchi

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g pumpkin gnocchi - store-bought, shelf-stable
• 2 tbsp butter

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

• 100 g butter - best quality you can afford
• 24 fresh sage leaves - pat dry if needed
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Instructions

 

• Pan-fry the gnocchi: to a large lidded deep fry pan or skillet over medium-high, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter, add the pumpkin gnocchi, stir to ensure the pieces are separated and fully coated in the oil and butter, and fry the gnocchi for a few minutes.
• Use a wooden spoon to stir the gnocchi, which should have puffed up and be starting to crisp up and brown, and continue to stir the gnocchi for a couple more minutes until it’s mostly browned all over.
• Try a piece of the pasta. If the gnocchi is crispy and brown on the outside and soft and fluffy within, it’s ready, so remove the pan from the heat and set aside. If the gnocchi isn’t soft enough for you, put the lid on and put it back on the heat for another minute or so, then remove the lid and take the pan off the heat.
• Make the brown butter sage sauce: to a small or medium sized fry pan over medium-low heat, add the 100 grams of butter and heat until the butter melts and foams up.
• Add the fresh sage leaves to the butter, separate the leaves with a wooden spoon then leave the leaves to fry. The sage leaves will crisp up while the butter will begin to brown, and smell deliciously nutty.
• When the foam begins to subside, immediately transfer the sage brown butter sauce to the pumpkin gnocchi pan, add the salt and pepper, and stir to combine well.
• Divide the gnocchi between bowls, drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, and serve immediately with grated parmesan, and salt and pepper, and a side salad.

Notes

To serve: extra virgin olive oil for drizzling, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and a side salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 496kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 5gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 778mgPotassium: 11mgFiber: 3gSugar: 0.02gVitamin A: 803IUCalcium: 35mgIron: 5mg

Please do let us know in the comments below if you make our crispy pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce recipe as we love hearing how our recipes turn out for you.