Cooking with Braddy: Gnocchi and Goat Cheese

About ten years ago (ty brdo, I'm old), I served a church mission in the Czech Republic and (more notably for the purposes of this post) Slovakia.  The national dish of Slovakia is called bryndzove halusky.  Whether that's an official title or not, the dish is truly emblematic of the country as a whole.  It's pretty simple - potato gnocchi smothered in a goat cheese called "brynza" and garnished with bacon.  Easy stuff, and totally delicious.

Too bad bryndza isn't for sale in the United States.  And that leaves me with too options:  Either find a replacement, or ship the cheese across the Atlantic Ocean.  The latter option's a bit too expensive for me, so I've experimented with some other flavors.  Feta is a decent substitute, as is the Chevrai goat cheese pictured above.

The recipe is a simple one - peel the potatoes, then grate them into a mush.  Add enough flour to turn the potato mush into a thick dough.  Cut the dough into pieces and add to boiling water.  Cook until they float to the surface, strain, and then add bacon, cheese, and just a little bacon grease (for flavor, of course).  It's heavy, filling, and, sadly, still no match for the real deal with bryndza.  But, to me, it's still comfort food, and I loves it.

I loves it so much, you guys.