Beetroot and ricotta gnocchi with a brown butter thyme sauce, walnuts and Roquefort

Certainly a case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. A delectable combination.

This gnocchi looks beautiful and has a great flavour, though the texture is not the pillow-like ideal of potato based gnocchi. The texture is firmer, not unlike al dente pasta, or a piece of succulent chicken. Beetroot has a much higher moisture content than baked potatoes, so requires more flour to come together as a dough suitable for rolling out into gnocchi shapes. Maybe not pillow-like, but they do have a very satisfying texture.

What really sets this dish apart though is the way the beetroot and ricotta gnocchi is so perfectly complimented by the Roquefort cheese, walnuts, and brown butter sauce. I have made a vaguely similar dish before, using sweet potato gnocchi. While that dish tasted great, it wasn’t “greater than the sum of its parts” as this dish is.

Other blue cheeses may work just as well as Roquefort. Although I enjoy a wide range of blue cheeses, I am always drawn back to  Roquefort as it is such a truly wonderful cheese with a long interesting history and a complimentary bonus of potential health benefits.

The quantities in the recipe will make enough gnocchi for about 8 people. Put the left-over gnocchi in a plastic container and freeze for next time.

If you haven’t made a brown butter sauce before, there is a great guide at SimplyRecipes. It is very important not to burn the milk solids that separate when the butter is heated. They should be brown, but not burnt. Using a light colored saucepan makes it easier to stop heating the butter at just the right moment. I used a ceramic dutch oven which had a useful off-white colour.

Beetroot and ricotta gnocchi with a brown butter thyme sauce, walnuts and Roquefort

Servings: 4 people

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Ingredients

Beetroot and ricotta gnocchi

• 500 g beetroot
• 250 g ricotta cheese
• 3 Tbsps olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 egg

Brown butter thyme sauce

• 100 g unsalted butter
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme

Garnish

• 1/2 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/2 cup Roquefort cheese crumbled

Instructions

Beetroot and ricotta gnocchi

1. Pre heat the oven to 190 degC.
2. Wrap the beetroot in foil together with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bake for 1 hour.
3. Remove from the foil, and when cool enough, peel off the skins. They should just slide off.
4. To a food processor, add the beetroot, ricotta, egg, parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Process until smooth.

5. Add the mixture to a large bowl and add 2 cups of flour. 

6. Mix well using your hands until a sticky dough forms. Add more flour if necessary to get a consistency suitable for rolling out into a "rope".

7. Form the dough into a ball, adding more flour if necessary to prevent it sticking to your hands or work surface.

8. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
9. Cut the dough into 8 pieces then roll out each piece into a “rope” about 1.5 cm thick.
10. Cut each strip into 2 cm pieces and place the on a tray dusted with flour. Keep separate to prevent sticking.
11. Bring to the boil a large pot of well salted water. Reduce to a simmer.
12. Add the gnocchi to the simmering water. Once they start floating, they are ready. Remove to a colander to drain.

Toasted walnuts

1. In a large skillet, toast the walnuts over a medium heat until golden, around 3 - 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Brown butter thyme sauce

1. Bring a light colored saucepan to a medium heat. The light colour is so that you can see how brown the milk solids are.
2. Add the butter to the saucepan. When melted, add the thyme sprigs.
3. Cook until the solids separate and turn a golden brown colour, around 2 - 3 minutes. Be careful not to overcook.
4. Poor the browned butter into a cool bowl, to prevent overcooking. Remove the thyme sprigs, leaving behind the leaves that have separated.

Plating

1. Bring a large skillet to a medium low heat and add a Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Add enough gnocchi for the servings required and toss in the oil.

2. Once the gnocchi have warmed through, remove from the heat and transfer to the plates.

3. Spoon the brown butter sauce over the gnocchi, and add the toasted walnuts and crumbled Roquefort.

4. Sprinkle with some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.