I already have a fresh cheese gnocchi recipe published here made with fresh made ricotta cheese that you make yourself. I recently got a great deal on blue cheese so I thought I’d make Blue Cheese Gnocchi. They are very flavorful and do taste very good.  The taste sets them apart from many other gnocchi.

If you never made gnocchi before I recommend that you make my fresh cheese recipe gnocchi first. Even if you don’t make the cheese and purchase cheese you will learn how to make gnocchi better as this recipe is a little harder because the ratio of flour differed.

I sort of regret using the light heirloom beets instead of regular red or golden beets because the regular beets might have been more attractive for this dish.

The hard part for me was deciding on what sauce to prepare with them. I thought that the flavor is powerful so I thought they needed some other flavors and textures for a kind of balance with beets, apples and walnuts.

****************Blue Cheese Gnocchi******************************

Ingredients about 8 servings

10 oz blue cheese – leave out for about an hour so it warms up and gets soft

1 XL egg – beaten

1 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup flour

Water for boiling gnocchi

1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt – to be added to boiling water

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – for sprinkling on each batch of gnocchi so they don’t stick..(and it also adds another layer of flavor)

Directions

Get your sauce pot filled about 3/4s with water and a Tablespoon of salt on to a medium boil.

In a large bowl add blue cheese, egg and flour and mix well.

hand pinch off one gnocchi and do a tester to make sure you like it because the ingredients do vary depending on the humidity and mostly your cheese. You might need slightly less flour or slightly more flour. I try to make a very light melt in your mouth kind of gnocchi that differs very much from a frozen type. I try to use just enough flour to hold it together.

When you decide you like the gnocchi put about 1/3 of the mixture in a disposable pastry bag with the top tip cut off.

Twist the bottom to hold everything in and squeeze.

either knock off or swat each gnocchi off with your finger until done or add a string to the handle and use the string to cut off the gnocchi. After the gnocchi float for a few minutes take them out with a slotted spoon and give them a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil so they don’t stick.

For this recipe I used sheet pans to hold the gnocchi in a single layer to make sure they wouldn’t stick.

*SAVE your gnocchi water because it will be used to used to cook the beets!

The gnocchi are done and now you can put them aside and prepare the walnuts.

***********************For The Walnuts******************************

Ingredients

cup walnuts

2 cups water

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

fresh cracked black pepper a few cracks

Directions

Put your walnuts and water in a microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Microwave three minutes.

Uncover and drain the brown water you just released some of the bitterness.

Rub the walnuts dry with a paper towel.

Now place them in a small bowl add remaining ingredients mix well and place the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Leave out to cool and put to the side.

 

*****************For The Roasted Beet Sauce*************************

Ingredients****** (note I originally made double of this recipe and found that I had 2x of what I needed so I cut recipe in 1/2 so you’d have the right amount of sauce. Feel fee to double because you can freeze it and use for another time over chicken, more blue cheese gnocchi or something else)

1 1/2 large Beets ( I purchased my beets at the farmers market and got the mostly white candy stripe ones that only turn slightly pink) Any beet will do.

2 medium apples pealed, cored and cut in cubes

1/2 small sweet onion

1 garlic cloves

1 carrot

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt

1/2 banana pepper (or any pepper with heat that you like)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon thyme

about 1/2 the water saved from boiling the gnocchi

neutral non-stick spray

1/2 medium sweet onion – chopped

1 celery ribs – pealed (like you do a carrot)  – chopped small

1small or a 1/2 garlic clove – grated

splash red wine

1/4 cup scallions chopped

Fresh ground salt and pepper to taste.

 

Directions

Put your apple on a non-stick sprayed  baking sheet and roast 30 minutes and put away.

Get the beets, carrot,  garlic clove, banana pepper, 1/2 c sugar, 1/2T salt, apple cider vinegar , thyme and fill about 3/4s with the water saved from boiling the gnocchi  into a pan and roast for about 2 hours.

I waited till the next day to finish but you can do the same day.

When the contents are cool enough to handle-

Toss out the carrot, onion, garlic and banana pepper.

KEEP THE LIQUID and peal the beets and cut in cubes and put the liquid and cut beets to the side.

Get a large sauce pan on medium high heat and spray with non-stick spray.

Heat up your celery, garlic and onion till soft.

Add the wine and some reserved liquid and let reduce a little and in the mean time gather HALF your beets and HALF your apples and blend them with some of the reserved liquid up to thicken and flavor your sauce. Add fresh ground s&p to taste.

To serve heat sauce up with the apples and beets and near the end add the gnocchi and before serving add top with the walnuts and some scallions.

This really came out delicious.  It’s something unique but really good. Give it a try using any color of beet.