I heart gnocchi and I love heart gnocchi. If you aren't a fan of beetroot then turn away now. If you are a fan then this is your lucky day. Word of warning, if you have plastic gloves then pop them on, beetroot gets everywhere and stains everything, but if you're already a bonefide beetroot lover you know this already.
One of my presents from Cosmin this Christmas was a potato ricer (I asked for it he wasn't being sexist), you get the smoothest of mashes using one of these, but if you don't have one then use a potato masher, or a fork, or if you're really strong pop the tatties in a pan with a lid and shake them all the way to mash city.
Makes Dulcie's List Makes Cosmin's List
ingredients
gnocchi
- 325g beetroot
- 750g potatoes
- 1 egg yolk
- Flour (quantity varies depending on how watery your potatoes/beetroot are)
- Salt and pepper
pesto
- 50g spinach
- 1 tbsp walnuts
- 1 tbsp pinenuts
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tbsp parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
method
- Pierce the beetroot and potatoes with a fork in several places and bake in a preheated oven at 180˚c for one hour, set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly
- Peel the beetroot and grate coarsley. Scoop out the flesh of the potatoes and run through a potato ricer together with the beetroot. No ricer? Then mash with a potato masher or fork, transfer to a large bowl.
- Stir in the egg yolk and then add flour little by little until you have a pliable dough. Cover with clingfilm/saran wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough to about 2cm thickness and cut out heart shapes with a heart cookie cutter.
- To make the pesto put all of the ingredients in a blender. Alternatively you can chop them all up together on a large chopping board.
- Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes, they're ready when they float to the surface.
