With the school holidays upon us, it's time for teenagers to step up and take their turn at the stove with this easy, tasty family feed.

Recipe Callum Hann | Photograph Brendan Homan | Styling Natalie Homan

Parisian gnocchi with pumpkin, sage and pine nuts
serves 4

½ butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm dice
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
1⁄3 cup pine nuts
50g butter
1 bunch sage, leaves picked
3 cups baby spinach
juice of a lemon 

Parisian gnocchi:
1½ cups milk
75g butter
½ tsp salt
225g plain flour
4 eggs, plus 1 yolk extra
150g parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 200C. Toss pumpkin with nutmeg and olive oil and place onto a lined baking tray. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Add pine nuts to the tray, return to the oven for a further 3-4 minutes or until lightly golden then remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, make the gnocchi. Place milk, butter and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. Reduce heat to very low and cook, stirring constantly, for a further 2-3 minutes.

Transfer dough to a large bowl, then use handheld beaters to start mixing eggs and yolk in, one at a time, waiting for each to be incorporated before adding the next. Mix in parmesan until incorporated and mixture is smooth.

Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Transfer gnocchi mixture to a piping bag with a 1-1.5cm nozzle. Pipe the dough directly into the simmering water, using kitchen scissors to snip off into 3-4cm lengths as you are piping. Repeat until all dough is used. Cook gnocchi for 1-2 minutes until floating, before draining well.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add the butter, and once foaming add the gnocchi and sage leaves. Cook gnocchi for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally. Add baby spinach, lemon juice, pumpkin and pine nuts. Toss together, divide between bowls and serve.

 

This recipe first appeared in the August 2020 issue of SALIFE magazine.