Gnocci with Roasted Pumpkin and Sage Burnt Butter Sauce

I can't really say that I make gnocci all that often, nor have vegetarian meals all that often either. Why? Well... I am this sucker who makes some sort of meat dish every single night with vegies or what not and I had this fear of that a vegetarian dish couldn't possibly fill me up. Meat had to be the star of every dish. Right? ... Wrong!

Don't get me wrong, I have always loved vegetarian recipes but the thought of making one for myself (or my fiancee and son) riddled me with fear that I would have hungry starving men and boys screaming at me from across the table. An over reaction, I know. My mind tends to get away with me sometimes and in ridiculous ways.

BUT, I made this absolutley delicious dinner for us the other night and I will definitley be making it again. Apart from being cheap and a sort of fancy meal to make, it really takes no time to whip this up, even for the "i only cook when i have to" types. This dish is a crowd pleaser and for some reason "burnt butter sauce" sounds so fine dining that slapping it together, throwing it into a pasta bowl and lets face it, eating it in front of the tv sounds so decadent for a Friday evening.

Anyway, enough of my dribble talk. Here's the recipe that I discovered courtesy of taste.com.au.

• GNOCCI WITH ROASTED PUMPKIN AND SAGE BURNT BUTTER SAUCE
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•   1/2 small  pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cut into 2cm cubes
•  500g gnocchi
•  175g unsalted butter
•  1/3 cup sage leaves
•  shaved parmesan, to serve
•  salt and pepper to taste.
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• Method:
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• Preheat oven to 190°C. Place pumpkin on a baking tray lined with baking paper and spray with olive oil spray. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove to a plate, set aside and cover to keep warm.
• Step 2
• Cook gnocchi in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.
• Step 3
• Meanwhile, place butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until butter just starts to turn brown. Add sage and cook for 1 minute or until crisp. Remove sage from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook the butter until golden brown.
• Step 4
• Drain the gnocchi and place in a large bowl. Add pumpkin. Season with salt and pepper, and gently toss to combine. To serve, divide gnocchi between serving bowls and then pour over the butter sauce. Scatter with sage leaves and serve with shaved parmesan.
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• I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. A word of warning though, the nutty butter flavour can be a bit over powering so go easy with pouring the sauce over your pasta. 
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• I look forward to hearing from you.
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• Bx