Oh mince! I had forgotten about those beets!
I had to find something to do with them, n’est-ce pas ? Nothing hurts me more than tossing food because I forget about it. I could have done something I knew well how to, but I did not feel like making neither a soup nor a salad, although these sounded both good too. I was in fact looking forward to something new to use my bunch of soon-to-fade beets.
So when P. walked into the kitchen on Saturday morning to tell me I take that we stay here this weekend, don’t we?, he gave me a brilliant idea. Inspiring!
Of course, we were staying in! There was really little chance that anything more exciting and adventurous could happen with my turned-black foot still bothering me — and that’s a mild way to put it as I have never had such a pitch black bruise. Within a few days, I’ve mastered the hopping technique like a pro and I can even cover distances in the house — from stove to couch — quite fast. I think I even like it.
“Gnocchi?” I said after I caught sight of lost potatoes in the vegetable basket. They too looked like they needed to find a happy destiny on my stove soon.
“Oh yes!”
P. and I love gnocchi. There was a time when I would make gnocchi quite often, but as with many foods, my cooking inspiration goes in phases: when I tire of one dish or ingredient, I move to the next to find new stimulation, only to come back to it later. Like many of us, I like to play with a recipe for weeks, to understand it better, and improve it. And then, by some sort of unexplained reason, I seem to forget about it for months, as if it never existed. Enfin presque !
Things would be slow during the weekend, I knew that far. So perhaps it was natural that the thought of being comfortably home made me crave for comfy food, you know, the kind of food that you imagine enjoying with a good bottle of red wine, and a good movie afterwards. I knew that gnocchi would be a winner for our mood: not difficult to make, and comforting.
I had not made beet gnocchi before, so I was quite pleased to take advantage of the situation to be inspired. With potatoes and lovely flours, I could not possibly go wrong. So I imagined my gnocchi served warm at lunch, arranged in a salad dressed in a hazelnut vinaigrette, with toasted hazelnuts and fresh spinach — I bet pieces of gorgonzola in it too would be a nice addition. Then on the same day, I served the leftovers for dinner — yes I do this type of things — with an oven-roasted tenderloin pork prepared with sage, pesto, prosciutto and cherry tomatoes. A different way to accommodate the same food for different moods, making for an entire gnocchi day.
And the next day, I served the only ten left as a tiny appetizer dressed in the pistachio, arugula and basil pesto I had prepared for my meat the previous night.
And because a meal would not be complete chez nous without dessert, I also used the lovely strawberries P. had brought home — oh yes, did I tell you that he did the grocery shopping for me this week, I could get used to it — to make Lemongrass strawberry floating islands.
To feel a taste of Spring. After all, we managed to have our first lunch outside in the garden.
We loved the gnocchi the three ways, didn’t leave a drop of the dessert. All this red turned our plates into an explosion of cheerful colors and heathful food.
But listen, do you actually know what my first thought was when I fell on my foot?
Oh no!!!! Our trip to Italy!
Really!
Needless to say that the gnocchi and our strawberry dessert really helped, making me feel as if we were there already.
And making me forget about my painful foot.
Sauteed Gnocchi with Tarragon Tomato Sauce
Potato Gnocchi with Sauteed Mushrooms
You need:
- 7 oz cooked beets, peeled and diced
- 14 oz baking potatoes when peeled
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon brown rice flour (or white)
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons hazelnut flour
- 1 egg
- Toasted hazelnuts, peeled and chopped coarsely
- Fresh spinach leaves
For the vinaigrette:
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 shallot, chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon coriander, chopped
Steps:
- Peel the potatoes and dice them. Steam* until cooked (about 12 to 15 minutes).
- With a potato ricer, mash the potatoes with the beets. Combine the mashed vegetables in a bowl, and place them on a floured working area.
- Make a hole in the middle and add the egg. Mix together. Season with salt and pepper, and add the hazelnut powder, rice flour, cornstarch and potato flour. Adjust the flour accordingly. The dough should stay somewhat wet but not overly so.
- Divide it in 4 pieces and roll i each into a long stick. Cut small pieces and make a design with a fork if you like (by rolling each gnocchi in the fork.)
- Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water for a few minutes only. The gnocchi are ready when they rise to the surface.
- To serve, prepare the vinaigrette by mixing all ingredients in this order: salt and pepper, vinegar, shallot and emulsify with the oil; then add the coriander. Serve the warm gnocchi with the spinach leaves and the toasted chopped hazelnuts. Or serve with your favorite sauce, like perhaps a homemade pesto (mine was a pistachio/arugula/basil one.)
*Perhaps you know it is best to steam or bake the potatoes in the oven for gnocchi. They will be lighter when you make them.
Ingrédients :
- 200 g de betteraves cuites, et pelées
- 400 g de pommes de terre, épluchées
- Sel, poivre
- 1 càs d’huile d’olive
- 70 g de farine de riz complet (ou blanche)
- 50 g de fécule de pommes de terre
- 2 càs de maizena
- 2 càs de poudre de noisettes
- 1 oeuf
- Noisettes grillées à sec, pelées et concassées
- Feuilles d’épinards frais
Pour la vinaigrette:
- Sel et poivre
- 2 càs de vinaigre de cidre
- 1 échalote, hachée finement
- 2 càs d’huile de noisette
- 3 càs d’huile de colza
- 1 càs de coriandre fraîche, hachée
Étapes :
- Pelez vos pommes de terre et coupez-les en gros cubes. Faites-les cuire à la vapeur (environ 12 à 15 minutes selon la taille des cubes).
- Réduisez les pommes de terre cuites en purée (avec les betteraves) à l’aide d’un presse purée. Mélangez bien et mettez cette purée toute rose sur un plan de travail fariné.
- Faites un puits au milieu et cassez un oeuf. Incorporez le tout; salez et poivrez. Ajoutez ensuite les farines, la poudre de noisettes. Ajustez la quantite de farine nécessaire selon la consistance. La pâte doit être humide mais pas de trop non plus.
- Dividez en 4 et façonnez chaque morceau en long boudin. Coupez vos gnocchi dans chaque boudin, et faites un dessin à l’aide des dents d’une fourchette, si vous le souhaitez.
- Cuisez les gnocchi dans un grand volume d’eau salée. Ils sont cuits quand ils remontent à la surface. Égouttez-les.
- Pour servir, préparez la vinaigrette en mélangeant tous les ingrédients dans cet ordre: sel et poivre, vinaigre, échalotte puis émulsionnez avec l’huile; ajoutez ensuite la coriandre. Servez ensuite les gnocchi chauds sur un lit d’épinards avec les noisettes grillées concassées. Ou servez avec votre sauce préférée, ou même un pesto maison ; le mien était aux pistaches vertes, roquette et basilic.
*Vous le savez peut-être déjà : il vaut mieux cuire les pommes de terre au four ou à la vapeur pour obtenir une texture des gnocchi plus légère .
i am so sorry about your foot, bea! best wishes for a very quick recovery.
i cannot BELIEVE you still managed to make such a gorgeous meal while hopping around! you’re amazing. or a little crazy – maybe both. 🙂
(and i hope you’ll share the strawberry lemongrass floating islands recipe soon! the photos are stunning.)
oh no, so sorry about your foot! but you’ll be back up to normal in no time! this beet gnocchi looks absolutely gorgeous. i myself have some beets that are in desperate need of using up! this sounds like a great idea!
How did you get your gnocchi to stay so bright colored? I’ve made them a while ago and they were the same color as yours, but after I cooked them, they got darker (and not so pretty).
gorgeous… magical!
Thanks for your gluten free recipes. Your recipes are wonderful, I’m coeliac and I always try gluten free recipes. Sorry for my bad english. Anna
beautiful pictures Bea. Not enough to tempt me though, I really don’t like beetroot – and I’ve given it many many tries. Your dessert on the other hand looks very tempting. And I’m so jealous you can eat outside! Here April lives up to its reputation, going from nice and sunny one minute to rain, hail and lightning the next. Hope your foot recovers soon!
I feel so hungry now! These sound wonderful, and the photos are beautiful.
Bea, sometimes wow is all I can say. I know I repeat myself everytime I leave you a comment. I just run of out words to describe what goes through my head when I visit this blog. I’m mesmerized, seriously. Your colors and composition are flawless always. so effortless it seems. You know what it reminds me of? Although it has no relationship with food, I have the same feeling as when I see a photo of Audrey Hepburn and she always makes me want to be her and sigh at her presence. That’s how your photos make me feel and it’s no joke. I’m dead serious. I want to live in a world like your photos.
The floating island is so beautiful. Your pistachios always look from some kind of Willy Wonka world, so green… I can never get pistachios like that.
Absolutely gorgeous!
On adore les pommes de terre et la betterave..promis c’est une recette que je vais faire..Elle épatera à la maison….
Stunning on all levels! I love beets and gnocchis, so that recipe intrigues me… Wonderful!
Cheers,
Rosa
Bea! So beautiful as always!! I was just wondering if it’s possible to substitute regular flour in for the hazelnut and rice flours, as well as the potato starch…I don’t have any of these on hand and wondered if they served a similar purpose as flour in a regular gnocchi recipe…..thanks!!!
Gnocchi is becoming my holy grail. I am endlessly in search of perfection and always just one or two comic steps out of synch. The first time I made gnocchi, I made it under the tutilege of two wonderful Argentine women. It was divine. I later though, I can replicate that. And then tore my way through several recipes before deciding gnocchi must surely be a thing that is more art than science, more mastery than masonry.
Having seen those beautiful ruby beet gnocchi, I indend to give the idea a try. But like Sarah, I’m wondering whether I can do without the potato starch or sub something in. It is not something I usually have on hand.
Now that is some beautiful colored gnocchi you have there.
Hi Chanelle,
Many thanks. Yes, I have to post the other recipe too soon! Need more time. And hopefully, my foot will only be a bad memory soon.
Thanks Mimi!
Marija, well you know, I don’t know. They just kept the color, which I was really pleased about. I simply boiled them in salted water.
Heidi, thanks!
Anna, I am glad you enjoy them. Many thanks!
Inne, this is funny! 😉 Are you sure good lovely brightly colored beets won’t tempt you? 😉 Well, the weather can also be whimsical, but I think we are now on the right track. At least if we listen to the weather forecast!
Alfie, thank you!
Aran, that is such a nice note of yours. I really feel touched. Many thanks to you. Btw, if youy want pistachios that green color, you have to buy ther Iranian or Sicilian ones. They are known for that. I buy mine shelled already.
Eleonora, merci! J’espère que tu aimeras!
Rosa, thank you!
Sarah and Erin, yes not a problem you can substitute with all-purpose flour. Check my other recipes which use more traditional flours. I liked the addition of hazelnut in this one, because of the nutty taste.
Peabody, merci!
I still love visiting just to see pics! Beautiful job, as always. Never seen colored gnocchi, but sure looks great (even though beets and I don’t get along)!
Oh my goodness, Béa! I literally gasped when I saw the first photo. So beautiful … I have to try this!
Goodness Bea! Your foot is sounding scary! I hope you’re feeling better soon. My mom has been dealing with a sprained ankle and broken foot for months, so I know that it really isn’t fun. It’s amazing that you’re still cooking up a storm! Take care and congratulations on all your recent accomplishments. : )
Wow, your photos are so so beautiful!! I have bookmarked so many of your recipes I love love love this site. My husband and I (also a chef) have a little gnocchi coompetition and I think the sensational colour of your beet gnocchi leaves us both for dead. Thank you for this gorgeous blog.
http://www.thechefbite.blogspot.com
hope your foot heals quickly! these pink gnocchi look too beautiful to eat!
Lovely, happy food and so colorful recipes Bea! it looks like Spring is on its way! Hope you feel better and I can not believe you are still cooking with a painful foot!
Thank you so much for a hazelnut vinaigrette recipe. I had it once in a restaurant and have never been able to replicate it. I hope this is the one. I agree with another poster, that i hope you someday give us the strawberry lemongrass floating island recipe. My Belgian grandmother made floating islands. They are very childhood for me. Yours are so beautiful. I absolutely love your blog and pictures. It truely cheers me up everytime i visit. Thank you so much for sharing.
Oh Bea, these are the prettiest gnocchi ever!!! Hope your foot will be fine soon.
Great photos, great writing! I’ll have to bookmark this recipe.
Bon rétablissement ! Magiques ces gnocchis, mon dernier essai à la courge butternut ne m’avait pas convaincue, tu me donnes envie de m’y remettre mais surtout de tester ta version si colorée :)))
Bea, what a nice twist on gnocchi! That color is so vibrant and beautiful.
In case no-one else has mentioned it – put Arnica cream on your bruising, it should help enormously. Get well soon!
Just magical! What a feast for the eyes, and I imagine the stomach as well. Hope you are feeling better.
the gnocchi do look amazing, i too am a big fan, but i am fixated by the pesto, i could swim in pesto. and those two colors together are really great, like all the colors in your blog. i don’t know how you manage to coordinate so many different colors that mesh perfectly. i must learn something from you…
the most colourful gnocchi I have ever seen. By a mile.
Serait-ce La recette qui fera aimer la betterave aux enfants? Peut être…
Tes photos sont superbes! elles mettent vraiment de bonne humeur. Quant à tes gnocchi, je suis absolument speechless. Mon expérience personnelle avec du potiron a été desastreuse, donc out les gnocchi faits maison.
Juste un mot : magnifique! Pour la recette, les photos, et l’envie de tout dévorer que ton blog provoque chez moi! 😉
Now that is the perfect way for me to get my ration of beet love and for B. not to complain about eating them! A day of gnocchi? I can deal with that!! Hope your foot is better real soon!
Goodness, the color on those gnocchi is stunning! And somehow I have the feeling that you soon have something of that color on the black foot. Color is so amazing in the food world but also in a bruise!
Love that you did the gnocchi three ways. Once is enough on the foot. Hope it’s healing faster than usual.
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oh wow, this looks so great Bea! I’m really excited about this recipe, and its pretty too
Au secours Béa..je le trouve ou ton beau pesto….?????Bon week-end
Je veux dire la recette…
Sometimes I tend to think you’re making all this up!
With shaving foam, ketchup and dyed pieces of meat! Am I being too paranoid?
Eleonora, je ne l’ai pas encore publiee !
Skeptic, you bear your name 😉 A little paranoid indeed! ahah!
Yummy!
Now how ’bout that pesto???
Ils sont magnifiques et quelles belles photos!!!!!
Merci Merci Merci pour cette recette géniale. Enfin je cherchais à quoi faire avec mes betteraves et les pommes de terres que j’avais achetées il y a un bon bout de temps, et je suis tombé sur ce blog-ci. Non seulement il y a-t-il exactement ce que je cherchais, mais tellement bien expliqué et pas too snobby.
A big woop woop pour toi!
This sounds heavenly. I need to try this as I love beets. This may convince my husband who is not crazy about beets but is crazy about gnocchi. I have pickled beets in the frids with an egg floating in there. I think that will be my snack. You got me in the mood for beets!
Mhmm et bien comme c’est appétissant tout ça!!! Très belle idée avec la betterave. je trouve ton blog très intéressant même si je ne suis pas une pro de l’anglais!
I so love the way you capture food through your lens! The beet-stained gnocchi look so adorable. 🙂
oups je l’avais rate celle ci je la note et la recette de l’ile flottante….elle est ou ??…trop tentante..;
Très sympa ta recette, j’avas flashé sur la couleur. C’est chose faite! J’ai trouvé que c’était juste un peu léger en goût, pour les gnocchi! Mais sinon c’est très sympa à réaliser et très joli dans l’assiette!!! Merci pour ce superbe blog!!!
Ta recette est délicieuse et très originale, je l’ai un peu adapté et mise sur le blog. J’ai mangé ces gnocchis dans un bouillon, gratinés et enfin poelé avec pleins d’herbes et de sésame. A chaque fois nous nous sommes régalés!
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Love the blog, always enjoy reading it. I really like these gnocchi. I just made a gnocchi with choux pastry for the first time and it was incredible. Come take a look if you have a chance and let me know what you think.
Thanks so much!
Joe
The single best dish I have ever eaten was a beet-and-potato gnocchi in a butternut squash sauce, at Valentino in Santa Monica. I’ve been searching for the recipe ever since, and this, I hope, might approximate the gnocchi. Any thoughts on a butternut-squash sauce that might accompany them? The gnocchi at Valentino were very lightly sauced, and between the romantic lighting and the 1971 Barolo, it’s difficult to say exactly how the sauce was prepared. It seemed stock-based, with touch of cream, and tiny cubes of brunoised squash. It took all my willpower to keep from literally licking the plate clean.
Thank you for publishing this recipe!
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Just found your blog and will definitely keep reading and will also try making the beet gnocchi – fantastic colour!
Is there any chance of you posting the recipe for the dessert as well? The Lemongrass and Strawberry Floating Islands look light and fresh and oh so appetising!!
M
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Tried this recipe but with golden beets and it was delicious! Mine looked like simple potato gnocchi since the beets were yellow, but had an amazing flavor. Thank you!
Beetroot can be peeled, steamed, and then eaten warm with butter as a delicacy; cooked, pickled, and then eaten cold as a condiment; or peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad. Pickled beets are a traditional food of the American South. It is also common in Australia and New Zealand for pickled beetroot to be served on a hamburger.**^,
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