Brown Butter Gnocchi with Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale

January in Chicago has a particular texture — gray skies, wind off the lake that cuts through any coat, and a collective understanding that you just have to get through it. I have been getting through it with soup. This week it was a white bean and sausage situation I cobbled together from what I had: a pound of Italian sausage from Aldi, two cans of cannellini beans, a bag of kale that was starting to turn, and a carton of chicken broth. Forty minutes start to finish. Ryan ate two bowls and said it tasted like a hug, which is the highest compliment a firefighter paramedic gives food.

School has been the usual January grind — my students coming back from winter break dysregulated and out of routine, me rebuilding the structure we spent months establishing. I love this work and it exhausts me in equal measure. By Thursday I had nothing left. I told my co-teacher I was running on Aldi brand coffee and spite, and she said that is what got her through her first five years. High praise.

Patty called at 7:15 Friday morning to tell me Richards HS is doing a new scheduling thing that she thinks is going to make everyone miserable, and also to ask if Ryan and I are coming to Sunday dinner. We are always coming to Sunday dinner. This is not a question that requires a phone call at 7:15 AM but I have never succeeded in communicating this to her. Babcia Rose made bigos — that hunter stew with sauerkraut and whatever meats she had around — and I had two helpings and took a container home.

The blog this week is the white bean sausage soup, because it cost me under ten dollars and fed us three times. I keep coming back to the idea that budget cooking is not about deprivation — it is about knowing what you are doing with what you have. One pound of sausage, two cans of beans, one bag of discount kale: that is four meals for two people. That is the whole lesson. The rest is just seasoning.

The soup handled Monday through Wednesday, but I still had half a bag of kale sitting in the crisper looking at me by Saturday morning. This gnocchi is what happened next — brown butter, the leftover squash I had roasted earlier in the week, and that kale that needed a purpose before it gave up entirely. It is the same philosophy as the soup: you use what you have, you apply heat, and you end up with something that feels like it required more effort than it did. Ryan called it “fancy,” which from a firefighter paramedic means he would like it on rotation.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb store-bought potato gnocchi
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3 cups curly kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
6–8 fresh sage leaves (optional)

Instructions

Roast the squash. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread butternut squash on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper. Toss to coat. Roast 20–25 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until tender and caramelized at the edges. Set aside.
Cook the gnocchi. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook until they float to the surface, about 2–3 minutes. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel — this helps them brown instead of steam in the skillet.
Brown the butter. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Continue cooking, swirling the pan frequently, for 3–4 minutes until the butter turns golden amber and smells nutty. Add sage leaves if using and cook 30 seconds until crisp. Remove sage and set aside. Add garlic to the butter and cook 30 seconds more.
Wilt the kale. Add kale to the skillet with a pinch of salt and red pepper flakes. Toss with tongs and cook 2–3 minutes until kale is wilted and bright green.
Bring it together. Add the drained gnocchi and roasted squash to the skillet. Toss everything to coat in the brown butter. Cook 2–3 minutes, letting the gnocchi develop a little color on one side without stirring too much.
Finish and serve. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan. Divide among bowls, top with crispy sage leaves if using, and add extra Parmesan at the table.

Nutrition (per serving)

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale — Because That Kale Wasn’t Going to Save Itself