Gnocchi with roast pumpkin, bacon & rosemary

Ok so I forgot to take a picture so you will just have to use your imagination for this one- but let me tell you it was delicious!

I chopped the pumpkin into small cubes, chopped 1/2 spanish onion, a few lean bacon rashers (visible fat and rind removed) and a stick of fresh rosemary stripped of its leaves. I tossed the mix in just under a tablespoon of olive oil and seasoned with salt. My pumpkiny goodness stayed in the oven (checked regularly) till the pumkin was soft, the onion was almost caramelised and the bacon was quite dark and crispy, then I added approx 2 tablespoons of lite cream to the dish and scraped up all the golden bits stuck to the pan (being careful not to smush up the pumpkin ). I turned the oven off but left the pan sitting in the warm oven. I cooked the gnocchi and when it was cooked and drained I added it straight to the pumpkin dish and stirred gently till the gnocchi was evenly coated.

I added a generous amount of cracked black pepper and served it on a bowl of crunchy rocket and salad herbs dressed in just a sprinkle of balsamic vinagerette.

It was sooooooooooooooooo good but I am still tinkering with the recipe. I thought that I could skip the cream at the end and crumble in some firm ricotta instead. I also thought about halving the amount of cream and adding a little stock to the pan juices instead. Some aged parmesan might also be yummy to serve, ditto toasted pinenuts.

the pumpkin is your oyster! away with you, cook, be merry, enjoy!