Crispy Gnocchi Pesto with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

I love goat cheese.  My mom loved cooking and introduced me to Ina Garten a few years ago.  Her cookbooks include wonderful photography and detailed preparation instructions.  Her recipes range from simple to complex, but they are always delicious.  Although I haven’t made them in some time, my all time favorite recipe with goat cheese is Ina Garten’s Tomato & Goat Cheese Tarts.  Although unrelated to goat cheese, I also love her Italian Wedding Soup – the meatballs are incredible!

KK’s love of goat cheese is nonexistent.  He had an unfortunate food poisoning incident caused by goat cheese in Boston’s North End while in college.  Because of his (somewhat irrational) fear of goat cheese, it is one of the most underutilized ingredients in Apt. 3D’s kitchen.  I was surprised and thrilled to see this Pinterest recipe on this week’s menu.  The ingredient list is simple, as is the preparation. While gnocchi poached in boiling water for a few minutes is a tasty and safe way of preparing it, I urge you to try crisping gnocchi over a hot skillet coated with oil.  The end result is crisp on the outside, but still soft in the middle.  The original recipe called for ½ pint of tomatoes, but I've updated the ingredient list to reflect a full pint – ½ was simply not enough! Depending on your love of goat cheese and/or pesto, you might want to consider reducing the amount of goat cheese.  The 3.5 ounces of cheese almost overpowered the pesto, so even I, extreme-lover-of-goat-cheese, will probably use less cheese next time. But, I assure you, there will most certainly be a next time!

One final thing: my dad one-upped me by informing me he made gnocchi from scratch last week.  I’ll have to try that one day!

Crispy Gnocchi Pesto with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
Adapted from 1 Cup Awesome
Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 package (16 oz.) gnocchi
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/3 cup pesto
3.5 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Directions
1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Place gnocchi in a single layer in the skillet and cook, untouched, 3-4 minutes.  One side of the gnocchi will be golden brown and crisp.  Turn and cook, stirring occasionally for another 3-4 minutes, until gnocchi is golden on all sides.

2. Stir in tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

3. Remove skillet from heat.  Stir in pesto and goat cheese.  Serve warm!