Poor beets. Often the shunned child because of the “canned beets” stigma and to my mother (sorry mom), a taste that is akin to dirt. I feel that the color alone should reclaim beets from the supermarket shelves and in to fresh produce, but the taste of a roasted beet? Delicious with a hint of sweet. This was an early crop of beets from the hoop house, the biggest beet measuring just larger than a golf ball. Nothing too big, everything just right.
I feel like somedays the photos speak louder than any of my words could, so instead of aimless words about this dish, I leave you with photos (and beautiful color.)
I’ve been wanting to make something like this for a while now but when I saw Lakshmi’s Beet Dumplings, I knew it was time. I should also mention that I had a, “I wonder why I should do this moment” when it came to peeling the beets. Unless the skin is tough on any vegetable, I leave it on. After roasting these beets for an hour, I found that the skin was barely there and by the time I pureed everything, I couldn’t even tell.
Finally, the mustard sauce was a moment of, “I just got done making homemade mustard, what can I throw it one!” So, if you’re not a big mustard fan, I also think these would be delicious tossed in an herbed browned butter sauce.
- Gnocchi:
- 4-5 small red beets (or 2-3 large ones)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1¼ cup-1¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ cup parmesan
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Sauce:
- ¼ cup homemade yellow/brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- pinch salt
- veggie broth to thin, if needed
- Topping:
- ¼ cup goat cheese (or more, if desired)
- Fresh Herbs
- Preheat oven to 425˚.
- Scrub beets off and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place in a pan and roast until tender, approximately one hour depending on size of beet.
- While beets are roasting, make sauce. Pulse garlic in a food processor until in small pieces. Add in mustard, honey, olive oil, and salt. Pulse until sauce is combined, tasting until desired taste is reached. Remove and set aside.
- Once beets are done, place in a food processor with skin on. Pulse until beets form a smooth puree. I used approximately 1 cup of the puree and reserved the rest.
- Stir in salt, parmesan, egg, and ½ cup of the flour. Continue to stir and add flour until the mixture forms a soft dough (the dough might be sticky, just use more flour on your hands and surface). Place onto a surface covered in flour. Divide dough into three balls and roll each out into 1″ ropes and cut gnocchi 1″ at a time. Indent gnocchi with the tines of a fork. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place half the gnocchi in the boiling water and let cook for 5-6 minutes. I let the gnocchi go for a minute or two after they float to the top.
- Place gnocchi in a dish, drizzle mustard sauce and goat cheese on top. If you use, you can heat mustard sauce up in a skillet and add gnocchi to lightly fry, then add goat cheese.
- Serve warm with desired garnish.























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