Beetroot & Goat Cheese Gnocchi w/ Wild Garlic Pesto

After months of the cold, bleak, and dreary Winter, the Spring brings with it the opportunity to create flavorful, beautiful, and colorful dishes. This dish is pretty, delicious, and easy to make while taking full advantage of fresh seasonal produce!

Beetroot & Goat Cheese Gnocchi

Ingredients:

Two medium sized red beets
Two medium sized Russet potatoes
1 whole egg
¼ lb soft goat cheese
2 cups whole wheat flour
Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF
Place a small wire rack at the bottom of a baking pan and add enough water to come up to the bottom of the rack
Place the two beets onto the rack, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
Stab the (cleaned) potatoes with a fork all around and place on a baking sheet
Put beets and potatoes into the oven and bake for 45 minutes or so until fork tender (don’t use convection mode if you have that)
Remove both from oven and allow to cool until you’re able to handle them with your hands
With gloved hands (optional unless you want beet stained hands) peel the skin off of the beets. The skins should rub right off to the touch
Cut the beets into manageable pieces and put into a food processor along with the whole egg, goat cheese, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth
Peel the skin off the potatoes with your hands and pass them through a ricer. If you don’t have a ricer, rub it against the smallest holes on a box grater
In a mixing bowl, fold the beet and goat cheese mixture into the potatoes with a rubber spatula and mix to remove all the lumps.
Slowly start adding the flour about ½ cup at a time. You may not need all two cups but you want to make sure the gnocchi dough is not too wet to handle
Grabbing small handfuls of dough at a time, roll out the dough into long, thing strips and cut into the size you want with a bench scraper or knife
Bring salted water up to a boil and set up an ice bath nearby
Slowly begin dropping the gnocchi a few at a time in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot as you want to keep them from sticking to each other.
Once the gnocchi starts floating, fish them out with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and drop the gnocchi into the ice bath to stop the cooking process

Wild Garlic Pesto

Ingredients:

3 cups roughly chopped curly parsley
1 cup roughly chopped wild garlic
3 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup EVOO

Instructions:

Add all ingredients minus the EVOO into a food processor and blitz
Slowly drizzle in the EVOO and season to taste

Beet Chips

Ingredients:

1 medium beet, peeled
Salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250ºF
Cut beet in half length wise and slice thinly into half moons
Place chips onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in a convection oven and cook for 30 minutes or so. If they still aren’t crispy, add continue cooking them, checking every five minutes or so.

Assembly

Ingredients:

1 TBSP unsalted butter
3 TBSP vegetable stock
Lemon juice
Grated parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley

Instructions:

On a pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and toss in the gnocchi, allowing them to get some color before flipping them
Turn off the heat and slowly add the vegetable stock to create a glaze or sauce
Season with salt and pepper and hit it with a splash of lemon juice to taste
Finish by adding the chopped parsley into the pan
On the plate, set a bed of pesto and stack the seared gnocchi up high
Garnish with grated parmesan, beet chips, and some more fresh chopped parsley
Enjoy!

Luis FayadApril 30, 2021

Beetroot & Goat Cheese Gnocchi w/ Wild Garlic Pesto

After months of the cold, bleak, and dreary Winter, the Spring brings with it the opportunity to create flavorful, beautiful, and colorful dishes. This dish is pretty, delicious, and easy to make while taking full advantage of fresh seasonal produce!

Beetroot & Goat Cheese Gnocchi

Ingredients:

Two medium sized red beets

Two medium sized Russet potatoes

1 whole egg

¼ lb soft goat cheese

2 cups whole wheat flour

Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF

Place a small wire rack at the bottom of a baking pan and add enough water to come up to the bottom of the rack

Place the two beets onto the rack, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Stab the (cleaned) potatoes with a fork all around and place on a baking sheet

Put beets and potatoes into the oven and bake for 45 minutes or so until fork tender (don’t use convection mode if you have that)

Remove both from oven and allow to cool until you’re able to handle them with your hands

With gloved hands (optional unless you want beet stained hands) peel the skin off of the beets. The skins should rub right off to the touch

Cut the beets into manageable pieces and put into a food processor along with the whole egg, goat cheese, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth

Peel the skin off the potatoes with your hands and pass them through a ricer. If you don’t have a ricer, rub it against the smallest holes on a box grater

In a mixing bowl, fold the beet and goat cheese mixture into the potatoes with a rubber spatula and mix to remove all the lumps.

Slowly start adding the flour about ½ cup at a time. You may not need all two cups but you want to make sure the gnocchi dough is not too wet to handle

Grabbing small handfuls of dough at a time, roll out the dough into long, thing strips and cut into the size you want with a bench scraper or knife

Bring salted water up to a boil and set up an ice bath nearby

Slowly begin dropping the gnocchi a few at a time in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot as you want to keep them from sticking to each other.

Once the gnocchi starts floating, fish them out with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and drop the gnocchi into the ice bath to stop the cooking process

Wild Garlic Pesto

Ingredients:

3 cups roughly chopped curly parsley

1 cup roughly chopped wild garlic

3 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup EVOO

Instructions:

Add all ingredients minus the EVOO into a food processor and blitz

Slowly drizzle in the EVOO and season to taste

Beet Chips

Ingredients:

1 medium beet, peeled

Salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250ºF

Cut beet in half length wise and slice thinly into half moons

Place chips onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in a convection oven and cook for 30 minutes or so. If they still aren’t crispy, add continue cooking them, checking every five minutes or so.

Assembly

Ingredients:

1 TBSP unsalted butter

3 TBSP vegetable stock

Lemon juice

Grated parmesan cheese

Chopped parsley

Instructions:

On a pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and toss in the gnocchi, allowing them to get some color before flipping them

Turn off the heat and slowly add the vegetable stock to create a glaze or sauce

Season with salt and pepper and hit it with a splash of lemon juice to taste

Finish by adding the chopped parsley into the pan

On the plate, set a bed of pesto and stack the seared gnocchi up high

Garnish with grated parmesan, beet chips, and some more fresh chopped parsley

Enjoy!