Dual Colored Gnocchi
For the past few weeks on TikTok, I’ve been diving into the wonderful world of colored pasta and trying to figure out as many fun and unique designs as I can think of, but amongst all of this I have realized that there is one iconic pasta that I have yet to color: Gnocchi.
I love gnocchi, those soft, fluffy potato pillows, so it seems about time that I figured out how to get a bit more color into my gnocchi. Yes, purple potatoes exist, but they aren’t as starchy as the standard Russet potatoes often used for gnocchi, so while they can make gnocchi, it might not be as light or fluffy as you might expect.
Fortunately, the natural pasta coloring techniques that I have been using can easily apply to gnocchi, as such I will show you how to make two beautifully colored gnocchi, an orange gnocchi colored with tomato paste and a green gnocchi colored with spinach.
It will make for gnocchi that both look and taste spectacular, and can be paired well with just about any mix-in or sauce that you can think of, from a light marinara to an herbal pesto or even the classic duo of brown butter and fresh sage.
Makes 6 portions
4 large russet potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
4 large eggs, divided
2 1/2oz fresh baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup ricotta cheese, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
4 cups flour, divided, plus more for dusting
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/190 C. Jab your potatoes all over with a fork, rub with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place the potatoes directly onto an oven rack, and bake for 75-90 minutes, or until fork tender.
After letting the potatoes cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Use either a potato masher or ricer to crush the potatoes into fine shreds, and divide among two bowls.
(Don’t throw away the potato skins, by the way. Bake them about 10-15 minutes more on a sheet tray, you’ll have yourself crunchy potato skins! Better than any bagged potato chips, in my opinion.)
In a food processor, beat up two of the eggs with the spinach for about 2 minutes, or until blended into a very smooth mixture. Add that to half of the mashed potato flesh. In the other half, add the remaining eggs and tomato paste.
For both colors, add half of the ricotta, season generously with salt and pepper, then add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until you get a dough that doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl anymore.
Tip each portion of dough out onto a floured surface, and gently knead, adding more flour if necessary, until you get a smooth ball of dough that isn’t super sticky anymore.
Cut each dough portion into 4, then use your hands to roll into 1-inch thick logs. Use a floured bench cutter to cut each log into 1/2-inch pieces, and sprinkle some flour onto the outside of each piece.
To cook, heat a wide saucepan of salted water to a simmer, then add your gnocchi and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gnocchi floats to the surface of the water, then drain.
From there, you can sauce them right away, or do what I do and saute them in a frying pan to get a nice golden outside.
