These little red clouds of Beet and Potato Gnocchi are just so pretty! The beet puree turns the gnocchi a stunning magenta color. Serve it with a simple butter and sage sauce, like we did.
There may be only a handful of my friends that would rush over to eat beet and potato gnocchi -gnocchi di barbabietola, and they are really smart friends! Seriously, I haven't met anyone yet that hasn't been a fan of potato gnocchi, but throw in beets and they may wonder what in the world is going on in our kitchen.
Beet and Potato Gnocchi
Originally published in March 2019 and updated on February 11, 2020.
I'm a huge, I mean HUGE, fan of beets. I love red beets and golden beets. I love them shredded and raw and I especially love them roasted and added to a fun salad like this beet, orange, kumquat and quinoa salad. I love beet juice! I love the color and I love how my fingers turn red when I clean the red beets.
I can't say that I particularly love canned beets, for me, the fun is all in the preparation of the beets. So on to these gnocchi.
How to make simple butter and sage sauce for beet and potato gnocchi
I wanted to have just a simple butter and sage sauce. The sage we used was from my herb garden. We then added in some fresh chopped tomatoes. There was a stick of butter, a handful of the fresh sage and about 2 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper. We weren't following a recipe (like many of the Italian savory dishes I do!). If you want to skip the tomatoes, a simple butter and sage sauce would be just perfect!
Our impromptu gnocchi making night was fun for the whole family and our visiting chef friend here from Italy. We sat outside and enjoyed the gorgeous evening. The kids were arguing just a little bit and my son was wondering why the gnocchi are such a weird color, but he enjoyed every last one!
Tips on how to make the best beet and potato gnocchi
As I mentioned in the post above, it's not easy to make gnocchi and to photograph them. You maybe will be making them just for the sheer pleasure of enjoying them, so the mess won't be tricky to deal with. I pureed my beets in my food processor. If you have a potato ricer, that is ideal to get the potatoes totally smooth. You could need more flour as you are going along putting together the gnocchi dough.
How to make the best gnocchi dough
Here are some tips to help you make the best gnocchi. It all starts with the potatoes, so make sure you follow the steps below on how to work with the potatoes.
- Mash the potatoes while they are hot.
- cool the potatoes before adding to flour/eggs.
- don’t forget to add flour to your working surface so it won’t stick while you are working it.
- don’t over mix or it will become mushy.
How to cook homemade gnocchi
- cook in boiling/salted water.
- don’t stir while cooking or they will stick
- they will float to top when they are ready.
Beet and Potato Gnocchi-Gnocchi di Barbabietola
Ingredients
- 2 baking potatoes
- 2 medium beets
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 cups flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Wrap beets with aluminum foil. Wash the potatoes and boil them until they are very soft (boil with peels on). When they are soft, time to mash the potato. You should use a ricer, if you have one or you could use a potato masher. You need to wait until the potatoes are a little cool, but they need to be not cold.
- Bake beets for 75 minutes. When they are done, leave them on the the counter until they are cool enough to be able to handle.
- Peel skin from potato and beets. Pass the potato through a ricer or a food mill. If you don't have a ricer or a food mill, use a fork, a masher or a box grater.
- Put the peeled beets into a food processor and run until the beets are very smooth. Mix potato and beets in a big bowl and combine well.
- Flour the surface of the counter, make a mound of potato and beets mixture and make a well in the middle. Add egg yolks, salt, pepper in the well and mix them very well with your hands.
- Add 1/2 cup flour and mix into the potatoes. Keep adding 1/2 cup flour, mix and fold until the dough is still soft but dry enough to handle when you roll it.
- Flour the counter again and divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a 1/2-inch diameter rope then cut into 3/4-inch long piece with a knife. If you have the time to make indentations on your gnocchi, press gently each pieces of gnocchi gently with a back of a large fork to make the ridges.
- Set them aside on floured baking sheets with parchment paper or kitchen towel (not paper) and dust with more flour on top of the gnocchi.
- At this point, you can freeze them on the baking sheets or cook them. Cook them in simmering hot water until the gnocchi rise to the water surface. Give them another minute in the water and remove them from the water. Toss them with olive oil. If you don't eat until later that day, you still need to cook them, coat with olive oil and refrigerate until time to eat. Right before you eat, reheat the gnocchi with hot water for 30 seconds.
mimi rippee says
What a fabulous recipe! I love beets as well, but have never used them this way. I have filled ravioli with them, but I love what the beets do to the color! You could really make these for a special occasion!!
Lora says
Hi Mimi-Thank you!! Yes, the beets add such a stunning surprise of color to so many things! Hope you have a great rest of your week!