Winter Squash Gnudi with Savory Mushroom Sauce

HomeClinics & ProgramsELLICSR KitchenWinter Squash Gnudi with Savory Mushroom Sauce

Skill Level	Intermediate

Preparation Time	15 minutes	Total Time	35 minutes
Servings	6	Cost Per Serving	$1.47

Gnudi

2 cups	Buttercup Squash (Butternut or Acorn will also work well), cooked and mashed
1/2 cup	Ricotta Cheese (low fat or regular), drained to remove most of the liquid
1	Egg
1/4 cup	Pecorino or Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 tsp	Sea Salt

Mushroom Ragout

1/4 cup	Dried Porcini Mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 cup of warm water
2 cups	Mixed Fresh Mushrooms (cremini, chanterelle, etc.), sliced in large pieces
1/4 cup	Sundried Tomatoes, roughly chopped
2	Shallots, finely chopped
1 clove	Garlic, crushed
1 tbsp	Fresh Sage or Thyme
1/2 tsp	Dried Chili Flakes (optional)
1 tbsp	Olive Oil
To Taste	Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Combine the squash, ricotta cheese, egg and grated pecorino cheese in a bowl and mix well. Slowly stir in the flour until well combined. Cover and put in the refrigerator.
Add the olive oil to a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic, chili flakes and shallots. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes, season with fresh sage or thyme and add the sundried tomatoes. Add the porcini mushrooms with most of the soaking liquid and simmer for a few more minutes. Season to taste.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add the gnudi mixture to a piping page or plastic freezer bag (cutting about a half inch off in the corner). Dust a cutting board with a little flour. Pipe the mixture over the cutting board and cut the dough with a pair of scissors about an inch at a time. Make sure to lightly dust each gnudi with flour so that they don’t stick together. Carefully collect the gnudi and add them to the boiling water. When they start to float to the top they are done cooking, roughly a minute. Add them to your sauce and serve.

PDF link to nutrition facts table for winter squash gnudi

Winter squash is an excellent source of fibre, and some of that fibre is in the form of pectin. Pectin can help regulate insulin levels. High levels of insulin are being studied to see what role they play in breast and prostate cancers.
Winter squash is packed with antioxidants such as beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect the eyes from free radical damage. They can also help prevent macular degeneration, the most common cause of worsening eyesight.
Legumes such as chickpeas contain resistant starch, a type of carbohydrate that does not get broken down by the digestive system until it reaches the colon. In the colon, the resistant starch is fermented. One of the products of this fermentation is short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs act as prebiotics, food for healthy bacteria in the colon. These bacteria can boost the immune system. SCFAs may also reduce inflammation in the colon and prevent colon cancer from growing.
Chickpeas are an excellent source of folate with 1 cup providing 75% of the folate most people need in a day. Folate is a B vitamin that plays an important role in repairing cell damage. Eating foods rich in folate reduces pancreatic cancer risk. Folate also helps lower homocysteine levels in the blood. Homocysteine is an amino acid that, at high levels, is associated with higher risk of heart attack and stroke.