The Gnocchi alla Sorrentina are one of the best-known dishes of Campanian cuisine. Tasty and easy to prepare, they require only a few quality ingredients. For the sauce, you need fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce (preferably homemade), and basil. To make good gnocchi, it’s important to use drier potatoes. I use red or old white potatoes.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 425.02 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 52.69 (g) of which sugars 2.28 (g)
- Proteins 17.55 (g)
- Fat 17.49 (g) of which saturated 9.78 (g)of which unsaturated 1.87 (g)
- Fibers 4.10 (g)
- Sodium 765.54 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 312 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1.2 lbs red potatoes (1.1 lbs peeled after cooking)
- 1.25 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg (medium)
- 0.07 oz fine salt
- 0.04 oz nutmeg (grated or powdered)
- 1.2 cups tomato sauce
- 0.14 oz fine salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 10 leaves basil
- 0.34 oz extra virgin olive oil
- 7 oz Campanian buffalo mozzarella DOP (drained)
- 1.4 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated)
Tools
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- Food scale
- Potato masher
- Pastry board
- Metal scraper
- Pot
- Baking dish for 4 servings
- Skimmer
- Gnocchi board
Steps
First, place the potatoes with their skins in a large pot with cold water and cook them for about 35 minutes. In the meantime, pour the tomato sauce into a small saucepan with the clove of garlic (which will be removed at the end), basil leaves, salt, and oil. Cook for 10 minutes (if the sauce is homemade like mine, just heat it for a few minutes). Cut the mozzarella into pieces and let it drain from its milk.
Once the potatoes are cooked, peel them and mash them with a potato masher (I leave the skin on as it will stick to the tool when mashing). Sprinkle the sifted flour on the pastry board, add the mashed potatoes, the egg, grated nutmeg, and salt. Knead quickly to form a dough; if it sticks, sprinkle a bit of semolina on the pastry board.
Cut the dough into 5 parts and roll each into logs as thick as a thumb and cut into pieces 0.8 inches long. Roll them on a gnocchi board or the tines of a fork and place them on a board sprinkled with semolina. In total, you’ll get 160 gnocchi.
Bring salted water to a boil using a wide and shallow pot and drop a few gnocchi at a time. Prepare a baking dish with a portion of sauce at the bottom. As the gnocchi rise to the surface, scoop them with a skimmer and place them in the baking dish. Drop more gnocchi into the boiling water (I cook them in three batches). Add the mozzarella pieces, part of the grated Parmigiano, and more sauce to the gnocchi in the dish. Continue with the other gnocchi, ending with sauce, mozzarella, and Parmigiano. Bake under the broiler at 480 degrees Fahrenheit and gratin for 5-10 minutes. Before serving, decorate with additional basil leaves.
