What you’ll need:

• Patience
• Potato ricer
• 2 Egg yolks
• 1 Russet potato
• 2 Medium-small butternut squash
• 2+ cups of flour (have plenty on hand)
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• Pepper to taste

The goal is to make the gnocchi light and fluffy, like clouds or pillows in dough form that taste like squash and not like flour.

There’s no measurements in this recipe because it’s completely dependent on the state of the dough when it’s ready.  You will be developing a singular relationship with this dough over the course of two hours.

I use a 2-to-1 ratio squash to russet potato (aged for starch), using one potato and 1 and 1/2 medium-small squash. Roast the squash until very tender, roast or boil the potato until tender.

Run the cooked ingredients through a potato ricer while they are hot. The goal is to let out as much steam as possible so that they both dry out. Let them cool completely.  The butternut squash is quite the wet vegetable so find a way to lose the extra liquid. A cheesecloth works.  Consider cooking them the night before.

Have about 2 cups of flour plus more on hand. Have ready two egg yolks, shredded parmesan cheese, and whatever seasoning you want to add.

Mix everything up, using as little flour as possible until the dough is no longer sticky, kneading only enough to incorporate the flour.

Form dough into a log and work slice by slice. This is when you discover how delicate the dough is. Make a snake out of that slice until it is about 1/2-inch thick and then slice it in 1/2-inch pieces.  Use a fork to make the signature gnocchi indentations.

Boil those pieces in very salty water until after they start floating and fry them up with butter sage and whatever else you want to use.