Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
(NYOH-kee ah-lah sohr-rehn-TEE-nah)
Il Pranzo della Domenica: The Sunday Anchor
In the Campania region, comfort isn't found in a heavy, overly garlicked deli casserole. It is found in a bubbling terracotta pot of soft potato dumplings, sweet summer tomatoes, and perfectly melted cheese. This dish is a masterclass in southern Italian restraint, relying entirely on the quality of a few humble ingredients rather than complex technique. While a Sunday afternoon practically demands boiling whole russet potatoes and rolling dough from scratch, any respectable Italian home cook will tell you that utilizing high-quality, store-bought gnocchi makes this a brilliant, blistered weeknight anchor.
Before you start
Preheat the oven.
Set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure it is hot enough to properly melt the cheese and bake the assembled dish.
Ingredients
- extra-virgin olive oil3 tbsp
- garlic1 large clove
- tomato passata28 oz
- sea salt1 tsp
- fresh basil1 bunch
- Russet potatoes2 lb
- Type 00 flour1 1/2 cup
- egg1 large
- whole milk low-moisture mozzarella12 oz
- Parmigiano-Reggiano1 cup
Method
- 01
Infuse the olive oil with garlic.
In a wide pot or large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the smashed garlic clove, letting it sizzle gently until it turns light golden without burning.
- 02
Simmer the tomato sauce.
Carefully pour in the passata, season with salt, and simmer uncovered for fifteen to twenty minutes until thick and shining, then turn off the heat, stir in a handful of torn basil, and discard the garlic.
- 03
Prepare the potato dough.
Boil the whole, unpeeled potatoes in salted water for thirty to forty minutes until tender, then drain, peel while hot using a towel to protect your hands, and pass them through a ricer onto a clean work surface.
- 04
Knead and shape the gnocchi.
Let the potato steam escape for a minute, sprinkle with flour and a generous pinch of salt, add the egg yolk, and gently bring the dough together with your hands before rolling it into three-quarter-inch ropes and cutting into one-inch pieces.
- 05
Boil the dumplings.
Drop the gnocchi into a large pot of rolling, generously salted water and scoop them out with a slotted spoon the second they float to the surface, transferring them directly into the warm tomato sauce.
- 06
Marry the pasta and sauce.
Gently toss the cooked gnocchi in the skillet until every dumpling is evenly coated in the sweet tomato sauce.
- 07
Assemble the baking dish.
Spread half of the dressed gnocchi into a ceramic baking dish, scatter half the cubed mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top, then layer the remaining gnocchi and finish with the rest of the cheese.
- 08
Bake until blistering.
Bake uncovered for ten to fifteen minutes until the mozzarella is entirely melted, then switch the oven to broil for two to three minutes to create a golden, bubbling crust.
- 09
Rest before serving.
Remove from the oven and let the dish rest for five to ten minutes to allow the molten cheese to set slightly and the sauce to cling perfectly to the gnocchi.
Notes
The Weeknight Pivot.
Skip the potato boiling entirely by substituting one and a half pounds of high-quality store-bought potato gnocchi, dropping them straight into boiling water while the sauce simmers.
Mastering the moisture.
The most common failure point is a watery sauce caused by fresh mozzarella. Using whole-milk, low-moisture block mozzarella is a highly practical, culturally endorsed shortcut that guarantees the perfect stretchy pull without ruining the dish.
Draining fresh cheese.
If you insist on using fresh water-packed mozzarella balls, you must tear them into pieces and let them drain in a colander in the refrigerator for at least four hours before assembling.
From Cook Italian in America.