Potato & Beetroot Gnocchi

Its all about adding a little extra kick of nutrition in your food. I added beetroot to the regular gnocchi recipe - it gave the gnocchi such a beautiful color, adding to the nutritional value at the same time.

Beetroot is so high in Iron and so good for blood growth and purification.

I served the gnocchi with a quick and simple sauce made out of caramelized onions, garlic, mushrooms and peas - flavored with fresh rosemary. The woody flavors from rosemary and mushroom blends really well with the sweetness that gnocchi gets from the beetroot.

To add a little tang I added some ricotta cheese to the sauce.

Although I am not a big fan of peas specially when its not in season but I managed to get a bag of some really nice frozen peas, they were sweet and tender. It adds a lot of color to the dish and compliments the red from the beet.

Its a perfectly hearty dish with lots of complimenting flavors.

Serving 2

cooking time 1 1/2 hour

Things You Will Need:

For Gnocchi

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 medium beetroot, peeled, boiled and mashed

1 medium red or any other un-waxing potato, boiled, peeled and mashed

1 to 2 tbs water

1 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, combine everything except water. Mix and knead together to form a dough. Add a little water (1 tbs at a time) if the mixture feels dry. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll out each part into a long rope of about the thickness of your finger. Cut 1 inch long pieces out the rope and roll them over a cheese grater for the texture (you can skip this step if you like). In a pot of hot boiling water, over medium high..steam the gnocchi (4 to 5 at a time). It would take about 3 to 4 minutes per batch, you will know that the gnocchi is cooked when its starts to float on the surface. Remove with the help of a slotted spoon and place in a slightly oiled plate.

For the Sauce

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup green peas

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs ricotta cheese

2 cups water

olive oil

salt and pepper

Stir fry mushrooms in a pan with some olive oil and salt. In a separate saucepan, heat up some olive oil and stir fry the onions on low till it turns a shade of nice brown. Add garlic and continue to cook for about a minute on medium high. Add peas and mushrooms and mix well. Add water, salt, pepper and rosemary to the pan, cover and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes on low. Turn the heat off and add in the cheese, mix well.

In a serving dish arrange gnocchi and pour a generous amount of sauce. Garnish with some extra cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot!