My darlings, since the flu has decided to take me prisoner for a few days, a simple recipe is all I can bring you at this moment. I look forward to days filled with complex baking recipes, beautiful and rich ganache, creme brulée, and my brain working out how to convert them into vegan. But since I have been the last to succumb to the disease in the household, after days of nursing the other members, my efforts will be rewarded by this very simple recipe that takes you literally 20 minutes and some handy work: beetroot gnocchi, which will result in these red coloured beauties. Not only it’s an easy recipe, it’s also a genius way to include more veggies into something that kids love without changing the flavour (you could very easily swap beetroot for another vegetable, like spinach, keep reading to find out how to do this!).
I have a bit of an obsession with homemade pasta. My great grandmother was Italian, so my family has had recipes passed on for a few generations by now. This is not one of those recipes, but I will be sharing some of those with you soon enough (as soon as this disease decides to give up its host). But there’s something so comforting about homemade pasta, so homely and cozy, and it’s just so satisfying to make. Honestly, you will feel so proud of yourselves once the work is done! And anyone you choose to share it with will be impressed by your skill. You just promise to keep my secret: it’s really not as hard as it looks 😉
This beetroot gnocchi recipe makes enough for 2 people:
- 150-200g drained beetroot
- 200g flour (probably a bit more)
- 1 egg
- salt
- Pat the beetroot dry with some paper towels, trying to absorb as much liquid as you can.
- Pulse the beetroot to a smooth purée.
- Add the egg and flour and mix well.
- Knead to a soft dough. If still sticky, add just a little bit of flour.
- Split into small balls, and roll each ball into 1,5cm thick “cords”.
- Cut into 2cm shapes. Shaping the gnocchi with the fork is optional (but very satisfying!).
- Put some salted water in a pot on high heat. Once it starts to boil, pour in the gnocchi and scoop out when they start floating. They usually take 2-3 minutes to cook.
- Drain and serve with some butter and grated parmesan cheese. Or something else. Your choice!
BONUS TIPS:
- The beetroot can be swapped for spinach, to make green gnocchi. Use the same amount of uncooker fresh spinach instead, and drain well after cooking.
