Fresh carrot gnocchi with rosemary olive oil

Although the sun is still shining here, I am definitely starting to feel autumnal. Not because I'm spending my morning playing conkers or kicking dry leaves, but because everything in our fridge appears to be orange. I've already made Spiced pumpkin cake with orange drizzle, Risotto alla zucca (pumpkin), Fresh pumpkin gnocchi and now I'm making carrot gnocchi. Fortunately I like being seasonal and, having only just entered autumn, these are still fairly novel ingredients.

This recipe is adapted from Emiko Davies' Carrot Gnocchi. If you haven't come across her blog before, I urge you to pay it a visit. It's full of beautiful posts on Florence, food and all things Italian. I liked the way Emiko made larger gnocchi than the ones we normally see, these felt a little heartier and thus more appropriate as we head into the cooler months.

700g carrots
180g spelt flour (or plain flour would work)
1 egg
70g ricotta
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 branch of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
Pinch of salt
Roughly 3 tbsp. semolina flour
Parmesan, to serve

• Boil or steam the carrots until cooked. Allow to cool a little, then blend to a puree.
• Bring together the carrots, flour, egg and ricotta into a very very sticky dough (don't expect to be able to roll it).
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil.
• Using a table spoon against the side of the bowl, shape the dough into quenelles (or into whatever shapes you can manage)
• Roll them in a little semolina flour before cooking.
• Cook in the boiling water until they float to the surface (this should take barely a minute or two).
• Meanwhile gently heat the oil, salt and rosemary.
• Once the gnocchi are cooked, remove from the water with a slotted spoon and add them to the rosemary oil. Turn after 30 seconds or so and then serve with parmesan (you're not trying to make them crispy in the pan, just allowing them to soak up the oil a little bit.