Vegan January has come and gone and though I have one more vegan post to make, I thought this beet gnocchi was a bit more fitting for the Valentine’s Day holiday (although a couple of days late!) I’m still perfecting my gnocchi-making technique, but I love the gorgeous color and hint of earthiness the beets bring to this recipe. You’ll likely have a bit of leftover beet puree with this, so I encourage you to make a Chocolate Beet Cake with the remainder.

Ingredients

(adapted from Food & Wine)
2 pounds medium-sized Beets, scrubbed, tops and bottoms cut off
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Pepper
1 cup Ricotta
1 large Egg, beaten lightly
pinch of Nutmeg
3/4 cup Romano Cheese, shredded
3 cups Flour, plus extra
1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped and toasted
1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup fresh Sage, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
Fresh Lemon juice
Fresh Sage leaves (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a baking pan drizzle beets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast in the oven for about 1 hour or until beets are soft. Remove and allow to cool. Once you’re able to handle them, use your hands to peel away the skins. Use a vegetable peeler if needed. Cut beets into cubes and puree in a food processor. In a standing mixer (which I don’t own – I used my Cuisinart with a plastic paddle and pulsed to control the speed), combine 1 1/2 cups of the beet puree with ricotta, romano, egg, nutmeg and 1 Tablespoon of salt on low/medium speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl and slowly sprinkle in the flour with the mixer on low/medium speed until it just comes together. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and a little sticky. Don’t over-knead – you want the dough to feel light. Cover the dough and let it sit at room temp for about a half hour.

While the dough is sitting, melt the butter over low/medium heat. Bring melted butter to a golden brown color and remove from heat. Strain through cheese cloth to remove the solids. Set aside. In a saute pan, fry the whole sage leaves in a bit of olive oil until they crisp up. Remove and allow to cool on a paper towel. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Prepare an ice bath and keep nearby. Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces and roll each one into 1/2 inch thick ropes. Cut each rope into 1/2 inch pieces. Boil in batches, letting the gnocchi simmer about 1 minute past when they float. Remove with a slotted spoon and put into ice bath to chill while you cook the remaining.

Once you’ve finished with the gnocchi, saute the garlic in a bit of olive oil over low heat until fragrant. Add the brown butter and chopped fresh sage and stir for a minute or so. Stir in fresh lemon juice. Add gnocchi and combine until the gnocchi turns a rich red. Season well with salt and pepper. Toss in walnuts. Serve hot garnished with crispy sage leaves.

Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Lemon Garlic Brown Butter
Brussels Sprouts season is pretty much over, so I thought I’d have one last hurrah. Speaking of seasonal eating, I downloaded a free app called Locavore that tells you what’s in season, what’s coming up and where to shop for local produce.Now if only I could remember to go to the farmer’s market on Saturdays. Am I the only person who thinks Sunday is the best grocery shopping day?  Greenpoint is trying to get a Sunday market going in McGlorick Park. Crossing my fingers…
16 oz Whole Wheat Gnocchi1 1/2 lbs Brussels Sprouts4 Tbsp Butter6 cloves Garlic with individual papers wrapping on1 1/2 tsp Lemon zest1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive OilSalt & Pepper to taste 
Fill a sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop brussels sprouts into fourths and toss with 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil until coated. Spread onto a baking pan, one layer thick. Sprinkle with salt and roast on bottom rack of the oven, stirring occasionally. Cut the tops of the garlic cloves off. Make a container out of aluminum foil, add garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven with the sprouts until soft. Add gnocchi to boiling water and cook for a few minutes until they float to the top. While they’re cooking, melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat, careful not to burn. Remove roasted garlic cloves paper wrapper and stir into butter. Drain gnocchi in a colander. Once butter begins to brown, remove from heat and toss the gnocchi in the brown butter. Add lemon zest and toss well. Add roasted brussels sprouts and toss again. Salt & Pepper to taste. Serve immediately topped with fresh parmesan. 

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Brown Butter Sauce (adapted from Food Network)
For the Gnocchi:2 pound Sweet Potatoes (I used two large sweet potatoes for this recipe)2/3 cup Ricotta Cheese1 1/2 tsp Salt1 tsp ground Cinnamon1/4 tsp Black Pepper1 1/4 cup Flour (+ 1/3 more for rolling dough) Preheat the oven to 425. Prick potatoes with a fork and bake on the middle rack for 40 – 50 minutes until tender. Allow to cool slight and scoop out potatoes from the skins and mash in a bowl. You’ll need 2 cups, which you should be able to reach with two large potatoes. In a bowl, mix potatoes with ricotta, salt, pepper and cinnamon until smooth. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time to the potato mixture, forming a dough. It will be sticky. Lightly flour a flat work service and divide dough into six balls. Roll balls into 1” around rope. Cut into 1” pieces (I did mine a diagonal). Continue the process until all gnocchi is cut. Boil a large pot of salted water and boil gnocchi in small batches until tender (3-4 minutes). Drain.
Maple Cinnamon Brown Butter1 stick unsalted Butter1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon2 Tbls Maple Syrup (try to avoid table syrup if possible)1 tsp Salt1/2 tsp Pepper 
While gnocchi are boiling, melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Once the milk solids begin to brown, remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Toss the gnocchi in the butter and serve immediately. Top with parmesan if desired.