Beet Gnocchi

After discovering I liked beets this summer, I knew I had to continue exploring or my palate would never expand beyond “roasted with an egg.” Granted, roasted beets with an egg is delicious (recipe soon to come), but why stop with one good thing?

But then I found so many other delicious recipes to try, I got side tracked from my quest. There were popsicles to make! And meat to cook! And smoothies to make! Who has time to experiment with veggies that stain everything pink with so much else to do? 

But that's when it hit me - since beets stain everything pink, adding them to things makes them pink as well. So when I saw this recipe for beet gnocchi, PINK GNOCCHI, how could I resist? It continues to allow me to avoid making real gnocchi (see also: ricotta gnocchi) and was absolutely beautiful. 

I’m sorry the pictures are so dark – let’s continue to morn the fact that my kitchen only gets good natural light for about an hour a day (that I tend to miss when working) – but I can assure you these are delicious.

Beet Gnocchi

From Naturally Ella

Ingredients

4-5 small red beets (or 2-3 large ones)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 egg

1 1/4 cup-1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup parmesan

1/4 teaspoon salt

Equipment

Roasting pan, food processor, mixing bowl, sauce pan/skillet

Instructions

Roast the beets: Preheat oven to 425˚.  Scrub beets clean and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place in a pan and roast until tender, approximately one hour depending on size of beets.

Make the pasta dough: Once beets are cooled, place in food processor with skin on and pulse until pureed. It should make about 1 cup (if more, reserve the extra). Pour beet puree into mixing bowl and then add salt, Parmesan, egg, and 1/2 cup flour. Stir until all ingredients are well combined. Continue to stir and gradually add remaining flour until the mixture forms a soft dough – it’ll likely be pretty sticky, but don’t worry. Flour your work surface liberally and pour dough onto it. Knead a few times until dough is smooth, then divide into 3 balls. Roll each into 1-inch thick ropes and cut into 1-inch gnocchi. If you’d like, feel free to indent gnocchi with the tines of a fork (I didn’t bother). Repeat until you’ve used all the dough.

Make the pasta – 2 ways!: You can make the gnocchi several ways – boiling or frying – and both taste great.

Boil: bring a pot of water to boil and cook gnocchi 5-6 minutes until they’ve been floating for a minute or two. Remove from water and cover in either butter or whatever tomato sauce you have on hand.

Fry: Add butter to a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning gnocchi occasionally as each side browns. Serve with salt or whatever tomato sauce you have on hand.