Gnocchi with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

This recipe actually calls for penne pasta instead of the gnocchi, but I had some gnocchi I needed to use, so I substituted. This recipe is pretty simple, but it’s very rich! Of course Toby added hot sauce to his (I really think his taste buds have been dulled down!). This was good, though, and I saved the rest for lunches this week. I think this sauce would be good with pretty much any pasta (mmm, ravioli!). With this we had a salad.

rating: 8.5

Gnocchi with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
(from the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray)

1 lb gnocchi (note: the recipe originally calls for 1 lb. penne)
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper
one 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (I used dried)

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the gnocchi just like the package says. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.
2. In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Return the gnocchi to the pot along with the reserved pasta cooking water and toss. Stir in the Parmesan; season with salt and pepper.
3. Top the gnocchi with the parsley and more Parmesan.