Butternut Squash Gnocchi With Duck Confit And Swiss Chard Recipes

SWISS CHARD GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Steam potatoes until very tender, about 50 minutes. Cool potatoes slightly, then peel. Mash potatoes in large bowl until smooth. Mix in salt and pepper. Meanwhile, bring 2 inches of salted water to boil in large pot. Add chard and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Drain chard; cool. Squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible. Finely chop chard in processor.
• Mix chard into potato mixture. Stir in egg and oil. Gradually mix in enough flour to form soft, slightly sticky dough.
• Dust baking sheet with flour. Working in batches and using floured hands, roll 1/4 cup dough on lightly floured work surface to form 12-inch-long rope. Cut rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece between palms to form oval ball. Using whisk, gently roll each ball down length of wires, making ribbed impressions in gnocchi. Transfer gnocchi to prepared baking sheet. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping with remaining dough.
• Working in batches, cook gnocchi in large pot of boiling salted water until gnocchi rise to surface and are tender, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to large bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Place gnocchi in single layer on oiled baking sheet. Cover with plastic; chill.)
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi and sauté until coated with butter and heated through, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, bring sauce to simmer in heavy medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Ladle sauce onto plates.
• Spoon gnocchi atop sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GNOCCHI WITH DUCK CONFIT AND SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Arrange squash halves, cut sides down, in an oiled shallow baking pan and put potatoes alongside. Roast vegetables in middle of oven until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer squash to a cutting board and potatoes to oven rack, then continue to roast potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes more.
• When cool enough to handle, scrape flesh from squash, discarding skin, then force flesh through ricer into a bowl. Measure out 3/4 cup purée and put in another bowl (reserve remainder for another use). Remove skin from potatoes while still hot and force flesh through ricer into bowl with squash. Spread squash-potato purée in another shallow baking pan and cool completely.
• Return purée to bowl and stir in egg, cheese, thyme, sage, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Add flour, then gently knead dough by hand 1 minute (it will be soft and slightly sticky).
• Turn dough out onto a floured cutting board and cut into 3 portions. Gently roll each portion into a long log about 3/4 inch thick. Cut each log into 3/4-inch pieces with a floured knife.
• Press a piece of dough against tines of a floured fork and push with a floured thumb in a forward motion toward end of tines, letting gnocchi fall from fork onto a floured kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
• Cook duck legs, skin sides down, in batches in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning once, until browned and some of fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Transfer duck to cleaned cutting board, then discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, reserving skillet.
• When duck is cool enough to handle, discard skin and bones, then pull meat into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet and remove from heat. Cook gnocchi in 3 batches in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until centers are cooked through, about 3 minutes. (Gnocchi will float to top after about 1 1/2 minutes.) Transfer as cooked with a slotted spoon to butter in skillet.
• Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then stir in chard and salt. Cook, covered, just until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
• While chard is wilting, heat reserved duck fat in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté duck, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add chard, including any cooking liquid, and duck to gnocchi and cook over moderate heat, tossing gently, until heated through. Serve sprinkled with cheese.