Walking through the farmer’s market last weekend, I came across some gorgeous golden beets. I didn’t know what I was going to do with them, but they were calling me towards them so I splurged and spent my pretty penny on them.

I’ve been thinking about making red beet gnocchi for a while now, so I thought I may as well try my hand at it with these beautiful golden ones. I found a few simple recipes for gnocchi – some with beets, some with ricotta, some with potatoes. So, I decided to (as I often do) take a little from recipe A, a little from recipe B, and a little from my imagination. I was brainstorming a sauce to finish this dish with, but decided in the end that I wanted this to be about the flavors in the gnocchi, so I just topped it off with a little aged gouda, olive oil and garlic pepper and it was a perfect weeknight, winter dinner! Here’s how I made this…

1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
3 small beets (red or gold)
1 large egg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cups gluten free flour mix
1 tsp xanthum gum
1/3 cup grated aged gouda
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle of garlic pepper

Cut stems and tips off of beets and wrap individually in tin foil. Roast in the oven at 450 for about 45 minutes, until very soft. Remove from oven and let cool and remove skin. Place beets in food processor and pulse until finely shredded.

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt and beets. Stir together and slowly add the gluten free flower and xanthum gum. Mix well until a dough is formed and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Remove from refrigerator and coat a baking sheet with some flour. Pour a little bit of flour in a separate bowl and scoop 1 tbsp size balls of dough, coating each with flour and forming into oval shape. You can use a fork to get the traditional indent on gnocchi. Place each piece on the baking sheet. Refrigerate for another 15 minutes.

While the formed gnocchi dough is refrigerating, bring a pot of well salted water to boil.

Place gnocchi in the boiling water. After a few minutes, the gnocchi should rise to the surface. let cook for about 2 more minutes once it rises and remove with strainer. Place in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with aged gouda (or cheese of your choice) and garlic pepper.