Roasted Beet & Ricotta Gnocchi with Wilted Beet Greens

With R at robotics till 7 o'clock on Valentines' Day, D and I had plenty of time to make a nice family dinner. We served it just as soon as they walked in the door. To make them pink, I added some beet puree to my ricotta gnocchi. I used the beet greens in the sauce. And the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf was a great help in rolling the gnocchi. We put on some Fleetwood Mac and went to town.

Ingredients

Gnocchi

• 2 to 3 small red beets with greens attached (I actually used all 6 beets for the dinner, but only 2 to 3 in this recipe)
• 1⁄4 C olive oil
• freshly ground salt
• 2 C whole-milk ricotta
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1-1⁄4 C gluten-free flour + more for rolling
• 1 C grated Pecorino Romano + more for serving
• dash of grated nutmeg
• freshly ground pepper

Sauce

• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 to 2 C beet greens
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T butter
• 2 T aged balsamic vinegar + more for drizzling

Procedure

Roasted Beets

Separate the greens from the beets. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scrub and trim the beets, then roll them in olive oil and sprinkle them with salt. Lay them on a baking sheet. Roast until they are fork tender. It depends on the size of the beet, but it usually takes about an hour. Once they are cool enough to handle, rub off the skin.

Rinse and dry the beet greens. Chop them into 1" pieces.

Gnocchi

Place 2 to 3 small beets into the bowl of a food processor. Process until nicely chopped. Add in the ricotta and process until well-combined and a uniform pink color.

Spoon the beet-ricotta mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add in the egg, cheese, nutmeg, and pepper. Add flour, stirring with a silicone spatula to form a soft, wet dough.

Shape dough on a parchment-lined surface with lightly floured hands. Roll into 1" ropes and cut crosswise into 1" pieces with a lightly floured knife to form pillow dumplings.

To form the gnocchi, press a piece of dough onto the tines of a fork. Use your thumb to create a dimple in the top of the gnocchi. Roll the dough down the tines to create gnocchi's signature indentations.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet until you're ready to cook them.

Cook gnocchi in a few batches in a pasta pot of boiling salted water with a splash of olive oil. Add a few to the pot at a time, stirring occasionally. When they float to the surface, they are finished. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain in colander.

Sauce

In a large, flat-bottom pot, heat olive oil. Cook garlic until softened. Stir in the beet greens and cook until wilted. Once your gnocchi are all cooked, add butter to the beet greens. When the butter is melted, lay the gnocchi in the pan in a single layer, if possible, tossing to coat with the butter. When the gnocchi have browned a little bit, sprinkle the entire dish with more Pecorino. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve hot.