New Year - New Recipes

It's January 1st, which means it's that time of year that people make New Year's Resolutions, and oftentimes they are similar - eat better, be more active, spend more time with family etc. etc. All of these are great resolutions, but in fact should be something we strive for every day, not just around the New Year. I do have a few friends who make some great resolutions. One year a couple of friends resolved to see more live music, and boy did they do a good job with that one. I have another friend who just recently finished his 2013 resolution of reading 26 non-fiction books (one every 2 weeks). So this year, I am going to join the bandwagon, and my New Year's Resolution is to cook new recipes. I'm not going to be specific and make a goal of one every week, or even every month. However, I am going to strive to cook new recipes as often as possible, whether from trusted sources, or making up new recipes myself.

To start off the year I picked up the January issue of Canadian Living and decided to try out their Ricotta Gnocchi. Brent and I made a similar version at a cooking class years ago, and I honestly don't know why I never revisited it. This recipe is a little simpler, because you don't need to drain the ricotta for 30 minutes. I couldn't find golden beets, so used regular ones, and thus the entire dish was a little pink, however it tasted fabulous! Brent said it was one of my top 10 recipes, which is great considering how easy it was to prepare.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Sauteed Beets (adapted from Canadian Living)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 6 baby golden beets, peeled, halved and thinly sliced (or 3 regular beets, halved twice before sliced)
- 2 cups lightly packed chopped beet greens
- 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted
- pinch salt

Ricotta Gnocchi:
- 1 tub (500g) Ricotta cheese (the recipe called for extra-smooth but I just used what I found)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt

In bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, flour, eggs, Parmesan and salt to make ragged dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and divide into quarters. Working with one quarter at a time, with floured hands roll dough into 3/4 inch thick rope. Cut crosswise into 3/4 inch long pieces. Set aside on floured, waxed paper-lined baking sheet.

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi, in batches, until floating and no longer doughy in centre (about 3 minutes). Using slotted spoon, transfer to plate and keep warm (I just loosely covered plate with tinfoil).

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook garlic, stirring, until fragrant and light golden, about 1 minute. Stir in beets; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, about 8 minutes. Stir in beet greens, gnocchi and walnuts and salt, stirring occasionally until greens are wilted and gnocchi is heated through, about 2 minutes.