Homemade Gnocchi with Maple roasted vegetables

This recipe is a combination of my love for roasted brussel sprouts topped with cheese and the fact that, as always, as soon as autumn hits everyone goes pumpkin crazy. I couldn't find a small pumpkin so used a butternut squash but I'm sure this would be delicious with either. I have also wanted to try making my own gnocchi for a while as my brother and I loved them as kids but I find suitable ones really hard to find. They were surprisingly easy to make once I worked out how much flour to add. Mine were a little on the big side so make sure your version of 'bitesized' is more delicate than my overlarge gob!

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash
2 white onions
1 bulb garlic
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 medium potatoes
8-10 tbsp plain flour plus extra for dusting
1 bag brussel sprouts
olive oil
salt and pepper
your favourite cheese to top - I swear by Left Coast Culture

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180c. Peal your squash, sprouts and onions and cut into bitesized chunks and pop into a roasting dish. Mince the garlic and add in along with the herbs, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and a good drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

While the vegetables are roasting, peal and chop your potatoes and boil until soft. Mash and place into a large bowl. Slowly add flour a tablespoon at a time and knead in to create a soft dough thats pliable but not sticky. Turn out onto a floured surface and cut into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a sausage then cut into bitesized pieces.

In a large pan, bring some salted water to the boil and place some of the gnocchi in, cook them in batches to prevent them sticking together. The gnocchi will float to the surface when they are cooked, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen towel to drain. Once all of the gnocchi are cooked, pop them in with the roasted vegetables and return everything to the oven to caramelise slightly and brown the gnocchi a little. I topped mine with some Left Coast Culture cheese just before I took them out of the oven so the cheese melted... drool.

We had this as a meal in itself but it would work equally well as a side dish.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife