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Easier than you think
I promise you this is simpler than it looks. You roast a butternut squash, mash it, mix it with flour, and roll it out. That is the entire gnocchi-making process. These little pillows come out impossibly tender and sweet from the squash, with a gorgeous golden color that makes any plate look special. The sauce is built around a tin of anchovies melted into olive oil — they dissolve completely and leave behind nothing but deep, savory flavor — along with green beans sautéed until they are snappy and bright, a hit of lemon zest, and a generous drizzle of homemade basil oil that turns the whole dish an electric green. It’s fall cooking at its finest.
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The basil oil
Basil oil is one of those things that feels fancy but takes about two minutes to make. You blend fresh basil leaves with olive oil until smooth, then strain it through a mesh sieve and a tea towel to catch every last bit of solid. What you get is this incredibly vivid, bright green oil that tastes intensely of fresh basil. When you drizzle it over the golden gnocchi and green beans, the contrast is beautiful. It also keeps in the fridge for several days and is wonderful on bruschetta, drizzled over soup, or tossed with any pasta that needs a fresh herb finish.
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Go easy on the flour
The biggest mistake people make with gnocchi is adding too much flour, which turns them dense and chewy instead of light and pillowy. Start with the two cups and only add more if the dough is genuinely too sticky to roll. You want it to be soft and just barely handleable. The butternut squash adds moisture and sweetness, so the dough will feel different from potato gnocchi — it’s softer and more delicate. When you roll the pieces on a gnocchi board or the tines of a fork, do it gently. Those ridges are what catch the anchovy sauce and basil oil, so they are worth the extra thirty seconds of effort.
Make it a meal with:
A simple arugula salad with shaved Parmesan and lemon to cut through the richness. A glass of crisp white wine — something with good acidity like a Vermentino or Pinot Grigio. Crusty bread to soak up any remaining basil oil and anchovy sauce on the plate.
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Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Melted Anchovies, Green Beans, and Basil Oil
| Prep: 30 | Cook: 55 | Total: 85 |
Pillowy homemade gnocchi made from roasted butternut squash and tossed in a savory sauce of melted anchovies, red pepper flakes, and crisp green beans, finished with lemon zest, grated Parmesan, and a vivid drizzle of fresh basil oil. Fall comfort food that looks and tastes like it came from a restaurant.
Ingredients
Basil Oil
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, about one large handful
- 3/4 cup olive oil
Butternut Squash Gnocchi
- 1 butternut squash
- Olive oil
- Salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
Anchovy and Green Bean Sauce
- Olive oil
- 1 tin of anchovies, about 2 ounces
- Red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups green beans, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
Roast the Butternut Squash
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and rub the cut sides with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place them face down on a lined sheet pan.
- Roast for about 45 minutes until the flesh is completely tender when pierced with a knife and the edges are starting to caramelize. The kitchen will smell sweet and nutty. Remove from the oven and let them cool until you can handle them.
Make the Basil Oil
- While the squash roasts, combine the fresh basil leaves and olive oil in a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth and the oil turns a vivid, bright green.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve lined with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth, pressing gently to extract all the oil. Discard the solids. The basil oil should be clear, intensely green, and smell powerfully of fresh basil. Set it aside.
Prepare the Gnocchi
- Scoop the flesh from half of the roasted butternut squash into a bowl and mash it until completely smooth with no lumps remaining. Save the other half for another use or leftovers.
- Add the all-purpose flour to the mashed squash and mix gently until a soft dough forms. You may need to add a little more flour or squash to get a smooth dough that you can roll out without sticking, but use a light hand — too much flour makes the gnocchi dense and heavy rather than pillowy.
- Divide the dough into portions and roll each one into a rope about 1 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces.
- Roll each piece gently over a gnocchi board or the tines of a fork to create ridges that will catch the sauce. The gnocchi should look like small, ridged pillows with a golden-orange color from the squash.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Drop the gnocchi in batches and cook until they float to the surface, which takes just a few minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and reserve about a cup of the starchy cooking water.
Make the Sauce and Assemble
- Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the entire tin of anchovies and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir constantly as the anchovies dissolve completely into the oil, about 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture should smell deeply savory with no visible anchovy pieces remaining.
- Add the green bean pieces and sauté until they are bright green, cooked through but still snappy, and lightly blistered in spots, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon zest, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
- Gently add the cooked gnocchi to the pan along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss carefully, letting the starchy water create a light, glossy sauce that coats every piece. The gnocchi should look golden and glistening.
- Divide into bowls and finish with a generous drizzle of basil oil, freshly grated Parmesan, and extra basil leaves if you have them.
Notes
You can roast the butternut squash and make the basil oil a day ahead. Store the mashed squash and basil oil separately in the refrigerator, then bring the squash to room temperature before making the gnocchi dough.
The gnocchi can be shaped and frozen on a sheet pan before boiling. Once frozen solid, transfer them to a bag and cook directly from frozen — they will just take an extra minute or two to float.
If you are nervous about anchovies, trust the process. They dissolve completely into the oil and leave behind only a deep, savory richness with absolutely no fishy taste. They are the secret ingredient that makes this sauce taste complex and restaurant-quality.
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