Pairings: La Follette pinot a match for gnocchi

Our Wine of the Week, La Follette 2013 North Coast Pinot Noir, is suave and sexy, a flirtatious wine that lures you in with a bright strawberry melody and then teases you with cool topsoil, earthy mushrooms, dried Rainier cherries and a gorgeous acidity that leaves you wanting more.

The wine underscores the varietal's reputation as the femme fatale of viticulture. And all this at a great price.

The wine is a natural companion to mushrooms, especially oyster, maitake and black chanterelle. It is delicious with seared duck breast and appealing with figs when paired with something savory, such as bacon or prosciutto. You'll enjoy it with salumi and charcuterie in general and especially Spanish jamon serrano, with its richly-flavored aged fat. The wine will soar with something as simple as homemade macaroni and cheese, especially if you add sausage or braised pork belly. Almost any risotto will welcome it alongside.

For today's recipe, we turn to the lowly potato for the Italian dumpling known as gnocchi, something we tend to enjoy in restaurants instead of at home. But they are not hard to make, especially if you do so leisurely, when you can enjoy the process.

Beet Gnocchi with Walnut-Sage Butter

Serves 3 to 4

1 small (about egg-sized) red beet, roasted, cooled, and peeled

11/2 pounds boiling potatoes, such as Russets, boiled until tender, drained

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, preferably local and organic

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted and minced

8-10 medium sage leaves, minced

- Black pepper in a mill

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

- Whole sage leaves, for garnish

While the vegetables cook, prepare the butter. To do so, put the butter into a small saucepan set over medium low heat, add the garlic and simmer for about a minute. Stir in the walnuts and sage leaves and season with several turns of black pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Fill a large pot half full with water, season generously with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.

When the beets and potatoes are cool enough to handle, pass them through a potato ricer or food mill into a medium bowl. Add the salt and mix with a fork.

Add the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the vegetables will not take any additional flour. Mix thoroughly between additions.

Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface, turn out the mixture and knead gently until very smooth and slightly sticky.

With your hands dusted with flour, roll the gnocchi into long cords about 3/4-inch in diameter; cut each cord into 3/4-inch pieces. Add flour to the work surface as needed.

Next, take a dinner fork in one hand, holding it sideways, with the prongs parallel to the cutting surface and the concave side facing towards you.

With the other hand, place a dumpling on the inside curve of the fork just past the points of the prongs and press it against the prongs with the tip of your index finger pointing directly at and perpendicular to the fork.

While pressing the dumpling with your finger, flip it away from the prong tips, and toward the handle of the fork and let it drop on the counter.

The dumpling will be somewhat crescent shaped, with ridges on one side formed by the prongs, and a deep depression on the other formed by your fingertip.

Cook the shaped gnocchi in the boiling water, about a dozen at a time, for about 10 seconds, or until they float to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a warm bowl.

Drain any water that has collected in the bowl, add the butter, toss gently, and divide among individual soup plates. Garnish with sage leaves, add a few turns of black pepper and a sprinkling of salt, and enjoy right away.

Michele Anna Jordan is author of the new “Good Cook's” series. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com and visit her blog at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.