One of the great things about subscribing to a CSA is that you end up with veggies you wouldn’t have necessarily bought for yourself… you are then forced to come up with creative ways to use them. As such I was perusing the internet the other day trying to figure out what I was going to do with a bunch of beets I still had kicking around from two weeks ago! A beet gnocchi recipe from the Food & Wine Magazine called out to me almost instantly…my favourite part about this recipe is the fact that it is made with a ricotta base, instead of potato.

This recipe is very good and quite decadent. I would make this again if I was having a dinner party and wanted to impress my guests. I thought that the end result was something I would expect from a restaurant.

Beet Gnocchi with Rosemary Butter

3/4 cup roasted beet puree*

1 pound fresh ricotta cheese (425g)

1 large egg

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups flour, divided

½ cup unsalted butter

4 fresh rosemary sprigs

Place beets in a large bowl. Stir in ricotta, egg, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix in 1 cup of the flour. (Dough can be made one day ahead, cover and refrigerate).

Place remaining 1/2 cup flour in a bowl. Lightly dust baking sheet with flour. Using a teaspoon measure, scoop dough into rounds and transfer to bowl with flour. Then with the tinges of a fork, press down into the dough and then transfer to baking sheet. Do this in batches. (Gnocchi can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate).

Melt butter with rosemary in a large skillet over medium heat.

Working in batches, cook gnocchi in large pot of simmering salted water until gnocchi float to the surface, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook 1 1/2 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to skillet with butter and rosemary.

At this point you can transfer the gnocchi to a plate and sprinkle with parmesan cheese or you can crisp them up a little more – depending on your tastes.

* To make roasted beet puree clean and trim two large beets (4 medium). Place in tin foil and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Wrap up and bake in 375 degree oven for about an hour or until you can insert a fork easily. Let cool and remove skins before pureeing. Note – I made mine the night before and left them in the fridge over night before removing the skins and pureeing.