Gnocchi with Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese

The longest cooking part of this dish is the beets. These however can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and set in the refrigerator until ready to use. After that, the dish takes less than 20 minutes from pot to plate.

Serves: 2 for a main course, or 4 as a side dish
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 50-65 minutes for beets + 10 minutes for pasta + 5 minutes for assembly = 65-80 minutes

Ingredients:
1 16-18 ounce package of potato gnocchi

Salt & Pepper – to taste

1 small hand-full fresh basil - coarsely chopped (about a ¼ cup)

3-4 ounces crumbled goat cheese (about 1/3 a cup) – or a small hunk goat cheese
broken into small pieces

2 tbs melted butter

5-6 roasted beets – cut into bite sized pieces

Directions:
To roast the beets – pre-heat oven to 425. Thoroughly rinse the beets then cut off stems and tips. Take 2-3 beets and wrap in doubled up tin foil. Seal the packets and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until fork tender. Set aside and let cool until able to handle. Take a paper towel and rub skins off of beets and cut off any booboo’s, set aside. Note : these can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated until needed.
In a large pot bring water to boil on high – add desired amount of salt to water ( I generally add 1-2 tablespoons). The pasta is unseasoned so this is your one shot before adding sauce to add some flavor to it. When water is at a rolling boil add gnocchi, reduce heat to med-high. When the gnocchi is done it will float to the top (it takes about 2-4 minutes) you can then remove it with a slotted spoon or wire strainer. Discard pasta water and place gnocchi back in pot and cover until ready to use.
In a small sauce pan – melt butter and add beets, cook just until they are heated through (this will vary depending if you refrigerated them or not) season with salt and pepper. Add beets, goat cheese basil and more salt and pepper, if needed. Toss/stir to incorporate ingredients and separate into two bowls. This dish is great served with a side salad and bread if desired.