Pumpkin gnocchi with hazelnut butter, macaroons and Bitto cheese

Ingredients for 4 persons:

For the gnocchi: 600 g Delica or Mantovana pumpkin; 100 g 00 flour (about, to be adjusted); 1 medium egg; 40 g grated Parmesan cheese; Nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
For the topping: 80 g quality butter; 6-8 fresh sage leaves; 3-4 dried macaroons (best artisanal); 60 g Bitto DOP, in fine flakes; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Cook the pumpkin: Slice the pumpkin and remove seeds and filaments. Bake at 180 °C for 40-45 minutes, until soft and dry. Mash it with a fork or pass it through a potato masher. Let it cool well.

Prepare the dough: In a bowl, combine the pumpkin puree with the egg, Parmesan, a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add the flour a little at a time (the moisture content of the pumpkin may vary: you need just enough flour to be able to form the strands) and knead everything with your hands until the dough is soft but not sticky. Caution: if you overwork the gnocchi, they will become hard while cooking

Form the dumplings: Flour the pastry board (or kitchen table), lay the dough on it and divide it, creating strands about 2 cm in diameter with your fingertips. Keep the dough covered with a tea towel at all times. Cut the filoncini into chunks. You can drag them over the tines of a fork – floured – to give them the classic ridging. Arrange them on a tray lightly floured, well spaced to prevent sticking.

Prepare the hazelnut butter: In a large skillet, melt butter with sage leaves over medium heat. Cook until it turns a golden hazelnut color and smells nutty. Turn off the heat and keep aside (be careful not to burn it!).

Cook the gnocchi: Boil the gnocchi in boiling salted water. As they rise to the surface, drain them with a skimmer and transfer them to the pan with the hazelnut butter. Sauté them gently for 1 minute, over low heat.

Finishing the dish: Serve immediately, adding:

• a sprinkling of crumbled macaroons (for sweetness and crunch),
• Abundant flakes of Bitto cheese,
• A touch of black pepper.

Wine to match:

(Edited by Stefania Vinciguerra)

Chianti Rùfina Riserva Terrælectæ Vigneto Lastricato 2020 Castelllo del Trebbio

Slightly garnet ruby. Nose on dark spices, red fruit notes, blackberries and sour cherries, with an appealing balsamic streak. Intense texture with decidedly crisp youthful tannins that make the progression yet to be relaxed. Intense finish. Young wine.

Production area: Rufina, in Pontassieve. The Lastricato vineyard was planted in 2001 on a clay soil type with good presence of limestone matrix skeleton. The exposure is north-south.

Grape varieties: 100% Sangiovese. Density is 5000 vines per hectare, Guyot training system, production 1.2-1.5 kg per vine. The vineyard is worked in full respect of nature, using Biointegral® practices. A sustainable project that operates in the agricultural field through the use of biodynamic practices, in the energy field through the use of renewable energy, and in the architectural field with the conservative restoration of the buildings.

Harvest: Manual, with scrupulous bunch selection and harvesting in small 10-kg crates.

Vinification: after destemming and light crushing, the must is fermented in terracotta amphorae. The fermentations are activated spontaneously. Maceration lasts from 15 to 20 days, depending on the vintage. Maturation takes place in 20 hl barrels for about 30 months. The woods were selected from the result of long experience. Further aging in bottle for about 12 months.

Alcohol content: 14% vol.

Aging capacity: 20+ years.

Serving temperature: 16°C in summer, 18°C in winter.

Recommended pairings: Florentine steak, game, braised or stewed meats, aged and medium-aged cheeses. Excellent meditation wine.