Butternut Squash Dumplings with Rosemary Ricotta Sauce
These light and fluffy butternut squash dumplings are perfectly paired with the creamiest, dreamiest and easiest ricotta sauce. You can make them together or separately, but either way, you'll be in for a perfect fall meal.
Equipment
- 1 bench scraper
- 1 medium dutch oven
Ingredients
For the butternut squash dumplings
- 1/2 large butternut squash 350 grams
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/2 lightly packed cups all-purpose flour 350 grams
- 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 80 grams, for dusting and rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme stems removed
For the rosemary ricotta sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary stems removed
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan plus more for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 lemon for zesting
- Olive oil, kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper as needed
Instructions
For the butternut squash dumplings
- Roast the squash until fork tender, I like to roast the squash face-down on a baking sheet at 425°F for 20-25 minutes. Move the squash to a cutting board, remove the skin, and mash it up well.
- Make a small well in the middle of the squash and crack in the egg. With a fork, work concentrically from the outside in and whisk the egg with the butternut squash.
- In two batches, add in the 350 grams of flour and continue to mix. Add in the salt, pepper and thyme leaves here as well. Mix until a very soft dough forms, shifting to using your hands when the dough comes together.
- Move this dough to a floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes, using the extra flour you have for dusting. Knead for just enough time to bring the dough into a smooth ball, but not too much that it becomes tough. You want this dough to be hard to work with, make it too firm and it will give you tough dumplings.
- Dust off any excess flour and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
- After the dough has rested, use a bench scraper to cut it into 8 equal pieces. Stretch those pieces out into cylinders and cut them in half again. These don't have to be perfect, but cut the dough into about 1" long pieces similar to gnocchi.
- Use a floured finger to press down the center of each dumpling, creating little wells for the sauce to puddle into. Set aside and prepare the rest of the recipe.
Cooking the dumplings
- Fill a large dutch oven with water and bring it to a boil. Salt the water liberally and cook the dumplings in batches. When they float to the top, use a slotted spoon to skim them off the top of the water and add in another batch.
- When all the dumplings are cooked, reserve a cup of salted pasta water, then drain the dutch oven.
For the ricotta sauce
- Put the dutch oven back on medium-low heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil, and add in the rosemary leaves. They should sizzle when they hit the pan, let them cook until darkened and crispy, then remove.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, parmesan, red pepper flakes and lemon zest to taste, for some that might be a quarter of the lemon, for some that might be all of it - adjust as you see fit! Add in the rosemary. Mix everything together with a spoon, crunching the rosemary into small pieces. Season with salt and black pepper as needed.
- Add the ricotta mixture to the dutch oven and turn the heat down to low. Add in 3/4 cup of the pasta water and mix to form a sauce.
Plating the dumplings
- Add in the dumplings and stir to coat. Stir on low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Only add more pasta water if needed.
- Scoop the dumplings onto plates and top with a pillow of more freshly grated parmesan and fresh cracked black pepper. Serve warm!