Colored Gnocchi with Yogurt Sauce

Colored gnocchi with yogurt sauce is a creative and healthy dish that can bring joy and lightness to your table. The coloration of the gnocchi can be achieved naturally using ingredients such as beetroot for red, spinach for green, or pumpkin for orange. Here is how to prepare this colorful and tasty variant of gnocchi.

Ingredients

• 500 g of potatoes (preferably yellow-fleshed)
• 120-150 g of flour (adjust based on the consistency of the dough)
• 1 egg (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Cooked beetroot, cooked spinach, or cooked pumpkin for coloring (quantity depending on the desired color intensity)
• 250 g of Greek yogurt
• Chopped chives
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Start by cooking the potatoes: wash them, place them in a pot with cold water and salt, and boil until they become soft. Drain them, peel them and pass them through a potato ricer.

2. Process the ingredients for coloring the gnocchi separately: for the beetroot, blend the cooked beetroot until you get a puree; for spinach, steam or cook them in a little water, squeeze them well and blend; for pumpkin, steam or bake the pumpkin and blend it into a puree.

3. Divide the potato mixture into equal parts for as many colors as you want to use and add to each part the puree of the chosen vegetable, kneading well to obtain a uniform color.

4. Add salt to taste and, if you decide to use it, the egg, which will help to bind. Then incorporate the flour, a little at a time, until the dough is smooth and not too sticky.

5. Flour the work surface and create cylinders of dough. Cut the cylinders into pieces of about 2 cm and then give them the typical shape of gnocchi using a fork or the specific tool, if you have one.

6. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi until they float to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon.

7. For the yogurt sauce, mix the Greek yogurt with the chopped chives, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

8. Plate the gnocchi and dress them with the yogurt sauce. Serve immediately.

Curiosity

Gnocchi is a first course widespread throughout Italy, but each region offers it in different variants. What many do not know is that gnocchi can be considered a predecessor of pasta and were already known in ancient Rome by the name of “pultes.” The colored version with yogurt sauce represents a meeting between tradition and innovation, not only in color but also in taste, by combining the traditional preparation of gnocchi with ingredients less common in Italian cuisine.