Potato Beets and Bacon Gnocchi

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Last week I got beets in my CSA share. I never had fresh beets before (shocking, I know) and I was pretty excited to try them. The only beets-product I had was pickled beets from Oasis (my favorite Mediterranean restaurant over at Chevy Chase), and they were sweet and crunchy. I thought these fresh beets would be just the same, except they weren't. The beets tasted earthy, a bit tough and with a slight hint of sweetness. I almost threw the beets out when I remembered a potato-beets gnocchi recipe I saw from Cooking Light magazine.

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I never made gnocchi before, so this was quite the experience. As expected, all the gnocchi came out different shapes and sizes. Good enough for me.

I love the vibrant magenta color!

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Boil the gnocchi, sautee the beet greens (which I didn't know were edible), add some bacon and Parmesan cheese....Ta Da!
Thanks to CSA for allowing me to show my culinary creativeness.

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To complete our dinner, Jake made a green apple-walnut-grapes salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Yes, he made something in the kitchen! All due to a lovely salad spinner that we got at Ikea, it's the best salad invention after chopped salad. No more drying lettuce leaves in front of box fans (haha!).

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Potato-Beets and Bacon Gnocchi
(Recipe adapted from Cooking Light magazine)

1 (8-oz) medium red beet with greens
1 pound medium baking potatoes
2.5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups vertically sliced onion
1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 slices bacon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove greens and stems from beet. Chop greens and stems. Piece potatoes and beet with a fork. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.
2. Peel beet and potatoes in to a bowl(when cooled, return potato skins to oven for crunchy potato skins. Excellent snack while making gnocchi). Use a potato masher to blend in. Add salt and flour one cup at a time into the mixture. Stir to form dough.
3. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and all flour is incorporated. Divide into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a 16-inch-long rope, dusting with remaining flour to prevent sticking. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece down with the tines of a lightly floured fork.
4. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a stock pot. Add half of gnocchi, cook for 2 and half minutes or until done. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon, place in a strainer to drain. Repeat with remaining gnocchi.
5. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon, cook until slightly brown and crunchy. Remove bacon, blot off excess grease with paper towel. If too much grease in the skillet, drain some until two tablespoons left. Add onion, sautee until translucent and brown. Add stems, sautee for 2 minutes. Add greens and gnocchi, cook for 2 minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste. Sprinkle with cheese.

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