Vegetarian Recipe: Evan Kleiman’s Red Beet Gnocchi

14 February 2011 4,052 views 11 Comments

Every week on the Good Food blog, we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Angeli Caffe's Red Beet Gnocchi

Today we are featuring Evan’s famous Red Beet Gnocchi - a Valentine’s Day Special at her restaurant Angeli Caffe. For the complete recipe, continue reading…

Beet-Ricotta Dumplings
These “gnocchetti” are a revelation. The color is intense, the flavor earthy and sweet and the texture has that kind of disappearing cloud -in -the- mouth effect. The perfect recipe when you need to wow people, especially those who they hate beets. Boy will they change their minds!

1 medium or two small red beets, washed

1 pound ricotta, set in cheesecloth-lined colander and allowed to drain for a day 1 whole egg

1 cup grated imported Parmesan cheese plus more for the table

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

2/3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dredging

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

Fresh sage leaves

Wrap washed beets in aluminum foil and place on baking sheet. Bake in 450oF oven until tender, approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven, open aluminum foil and let beets cool. Slip the skins off with your hands. Grate the beets into a mixing bowl on the large hole of a box grater. Add the ricotta, eggs, Parmesan cheese and salt and freshly ground black pepper to the beets. Mix well with a whisk or wooden spoon. Add 2/3 cup flour to the ricotta mixture and whisk together to mix. Set the mixture aside for a minimum of 2 hours in the refrigerator. Can be made up to two days ahead.

To form the gnochetti, roll a walnut-sized piece of beet mixture into a nice round. Drop it into the bowl of flour, carefully turning to coat all sides. Lay each dumpling on a parchment lined baking sheet lightly covered with flour. Continue forming the gnochetti until all the mixture is gone.

Just before you are ready to serve, melt the butter together with the sage leaves in a skillet. Let the butter lightly brown, the sage leaves should be nice and crispy. Set brown butter and sage aside while you cook the gnochetti.

Slip the gnocchetti into a pot of gently simmering salted water. Wait until they float to the surface of the water and continue to cook for an additional minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove them from the water as they are done and place them on a serving platter. When all gnochetti are on the platter, top with melted butter and crispy sage. Top with a liberal dusting of Parmesan cheese and serve.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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623011 Comments2011-02-14+20%3A00%3A54Gillian+Ferguson »

Dianna Rose said:

OMG…my favorite! I'm so happy to have this recipe. And I hate beets!

# 14 February 2011 at 5:23 PM

Mel said:

I've had these and they're delicious. But I have a question:

When Evan calls for 1 cup grated parmesan, what kind of "grated" are you talking about? On a microplanner or a box grater? Between the two methods (not to mention store-bought grated Parmiggiano, say, from Whole Foods), there would be a significant difference in actual quantity of cheese.

Do you have an approximate weight, instead, for the amount of cheese to use? Thanks.

# 16 February 2011 at 2:35 PM

Evan Kleiman said:

How about "grated parmesan to taste". A minimum of 2 ounces. I actually never measure when we're making them. I just throw in a couple of handfuls. Always be guided by your taste buds. We always make a tester and cook it up just to be sure it will hold together and has the right amount of parmesan and salt.

# 16 February 2011 at 4:29 PM

Mel said:

Perfect. Thank you so much for replying!

# 16 February 2011 at 5:48 PM

Mouthy Girl said:

These are utterly beautiful. And the color? Divine. I adore beets and will be throwing this together very soon!

# 19 February 2011 at 6:37 AM

huntfortheverybest said:

that is beautiful and it sounds delicious!

# 19 February 2011 at 12:09 PM

Olga said:

Mel, you are very impolite. If the author didn't mention the amount, he probably had his reasons to do so. This is not so important.

# 24 February 2011 at 12:24 PM

Dan said:

Agree)))))))

# 24 February 2011 at 12:25 PM

I'm Delicious... said:

Thanks for sharing this great recipe! I love cooking with beets and it's great to have another tasty recipe to add to the repertoire.

I also run a food blog and will be featuring your recipe this afternoon.

# 28 February 2011 at 8:23 AM

kc grace said:

Hello Evan. I had your gnocchi about two years ago at Angeli while visiting Los Angeles…Absolutely amazing!!!! Had an insatiable craving for it today and discovered your recipe while conducting a google search. Was just advised that i may be wheat intolerant and was wondering if you could recommend a substitution for the all-purpose flour, one that wouldn't compromise the texture as i remember yours to be, and one that will still do your gnocchi justice.

Thank you so much!!!

# 7 February 2012 at 12:33 PM

Beet and Ricotta Gnocchi with Butter Sauce | Dixie Caviar said:

[...] Evan Kleiman, owner of Angeli Caffe Serves 2 – [...]

# 14 February 2012 at 12:59 PM