A tasty and easy recipe for when you feel like you want pasta, but you don't want all the gluten... (though actually, does anyone really know what gluten is?)
Sorrento is a coastal town in southwestern Italy, facing the Bay of Naples on the Sorrentine Peninsula. I used to go there a lot when I was a teenager. A bunch of schoolmates and I would drive there, go to some dance club... I always disliked discos (what was the point of all that noise?), but I did love the late night croissant we would get on the way back... so good. I would like to point out that I have eaten gnocchi Alla sorrentina my whole life, but never in Sorrento... I should try it there one day...
Ingredients for 4 people (with leftovers... leftovers make me happy).
• 2 pounds of potato gnocchi.
• Half a pound of mozzarella (I like Galbani or Belgioioso, which you can find at any supermarket. But if you have a favorite fresh mozzarella, go for it).
• A box of Pomì strained tomatoes (see: ragù Napoletano, my first blog post for more info about that)
• Half an onion.
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
• Grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Fresh basil.
Let's cook!
The first thing we need to do is prepare a simple tomato sauce. For this one I slice the onion and sauté it in oil... I love to add a little bit (no more than a tablespoon) of strained tomatoes while I sauté the onions. I don't know the science behind it, but this always improves the taste of my tomato sauce. After 3 or 4 minutes of cooking the onions, add the rest of the strained tomatoes, a pinch of salt and a little bit of water (basically wash the Pomí box and pour the tomato water in the pot). Cook for no more than 20 minutes, then remove from heat, add the basil, and set aside.
The tablespoon of strained tomatoes is a trick that always improves the taste of the sauce.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Next, boil the gnocchi. Normally gnocchi take 2 to 3 minutes to cook. For this recipe cooke them for 1 minute (look at the packaging cooking time, and do a minute less than indicated). Before you throw them in the pot, make sure that they are well separated (sometimes I forget this step and that's NOT the result we want).
While the gnocchi cook (1 minute), place a tablespoon of sauce in whatever oven-proof container you'd like to use, just enough to coat the bottom.
Once the gnocchi are done, drain them and put them back in the pot. Add 3 or 4 tablespoon of sauce and mix (gently... always be gentle with gnocchi, they are very sensitive). Then add a layer of gnocchi to the oven container...
Add the mozzarella and some more sauce.
Sprinkle generously with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and add more basil. Place in the oven, at 350F for 20 minutes, or until you feel they are ready... They have to look like in the pictures below.
This is what it looks like when they are ready... So appetizing, n'est-ce pas?
Before serving them, let the gnocchi cool down for a few minutes.
This recipe is also great when you reheat it the next day (I even like it for breakfast, but don't tell anyone)
Wine: like with many red sauces, I like to pair this with a light red wine, like a northern Italian pinot-noir, or a German Blaufranker (also Pinot Noir, really), or a robust white, like a Ribolla Gialla or a Viognier.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Stay safe everyone and don't forget that in September the opera returns for a live production at Poplar Forest. More details to come at www.operaonthejames.org
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