Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is a top-rated Italian recipe and probably the most famous gnocchi recipe worldwide. The origin of this recipe is ancient and comes from the 16th Century. The gnocchi are tossed with the same Ingredients as Pizza Margherita and often baked to obtain a crisp and tasty crust: delicious!
INGREDIENTS:
- 28 oz ( 800g) Potato Gnocchi (here is my recipe)
- 28 oz (800 g) Tomato puree
- 7 oz (200 g) Fresh Mozzarella
- 10 Basil Leaves
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (50 g) Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 5 tbsp table salt
- to taste table salt
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ORIGIN OF GNOCCHI ALLA SORRENTINA
A few years ago, in my post "POTATO GNOCCHI RECIPE & HISTORY", I described two legends about the origin of gnocchi set in Northern Italy.
Studying the origin of Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, I found another amazing tale that wants the origin of gnocchi in Sorrento, a spectacular coastal village close to Napoli.
The Legend tells of a Chef of an old Tavern in Piazza Tasso, a central square in Sorrento. One day of in the 16th Century, the chef received a mysterious huge bag containing a new vegetable coming from the recently discovered new continent: the Americas.
This new vegetable was brown with yellow hard pulp, disgusting eaten raw. So, the cook tried to boil these weird things until they softened after they cooked and peeled and tasted better.
Then, he mashed the pulp of the new vegetable and combined it with some flour, shaping the mass into small pieces. They were good but too fragile, so the chef decided to boil the little balls: he had just invented the potato gnocchi!
The gnocchi alla Sorrentina are traditionally seasoned with the classic ingredients of Pizza Margherita: tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil.
In the local dialect, the gnocchi are called Strangulaprievete (Strangolapreti), that in Italian weirdly sounds something like the priest' strangler! A legend tells of a glutton priest who almost suffocated after eating a colossal gnocchi dish!
Actually, this word derives from two different Greek words that describe the process of creating gnocchi: straggalao, which means to roll, and prepto, which means to hollow.
The most traditional way to bake and serve Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is into the Pignatiello: a typical single serving clay pot.
WHAT KIND OF GNOCCHI
In Italy, we have several kinds of gnocchi: prepared with Ricotta, Polenta, Buttersquash, etc. The Gnocchi alla Sorrentina recipe requires the most popular variation of gnocchi, made with Potatoes and flour.
Even if using a good brand of packaged gnocchi, this recipe turns delicious; preparing them from scratch is unbelievable! If you want to make homemade gnocchi, click here for the recipe.
TOMATO SAUCE
The tomato sauce is another critical ingredient of this dish. The best choice is to prepare the sauce starting with fresh tomatoes (click here for my recipe).
If it is not the right season or you are short on time, use the best canned tomatoes you can find.
Basil and garlic are the most used ingredients to season our sauce.
It is possible to substitute basil with dried oregano.
BAKING OR TOSSING?
You can prepare Gnocchi alla Sorrentina in three different ways:
TOSSED – Adding mozzarella and other possible cheeses in the pan far from the flame and the just dried gnocchi.
Add the cheese a little at a time stirring continuously, until the cheese totally melts and mozzarella nicely spins, with the help of the hotness of gnocchi.
BAKED – In this case, the process similar to a Lasagna.
First, pour a ladle of sauce into a baking casserole, then add a layer of gnocchi, and a layer of diced mozzarella and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Repeat the operation to complete the casserole. Bake and serve.
TOSSED AND BAKED – This is my preferred way: follow the instruction for "TOSSED", then pour the gnocchi into a baking casserole. Complete the casserole decorating with some mozzarella cube and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake and serve.
PREPARING HOMEMADE GNOCCHI IN ADVANCE
If you prepare the gnocchi from scratch, the only way to preserve them for more than a couple of hours is by freezing.
Just place gnocchi into a tray lined with parchment paper and a sprinkle of flour.
Leave space between gnocchi, freeze until completely frozen, and then store in a plastic bag.
GNOCCHI ALLA SORRENTINA RECIPE
GNOCCHI ALLA SORRENTINA RECIPE & HISTORY - All you need to know!
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is a top-rated Italian recipe and probably the most famous gnocchi recipe worldwide. The origin of this recipe is ancient and comes from the 16th Century. The gnocchi are tossed with the same Ingredients as Pizza Margherita and often baked to obtain a crisp and tasty crust: delicious!
Ingredients
- 28 oz ( 800g) Potato Gnocchi (here is my recipe)
- 28 oz (800 g) Tomato puree
- 7 oz (200 g) Fresh Mozzarella
- 10 Basil Leaves
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (50 g) Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 5 tbsp table salt
- to taste table salt
Instructions
TOMATO SAUCE
- If you decide to prepare the sauce from the tomato puree, pour 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil and the lightly smashed clove of garlic into a saucepan.
- Then, place the saucepan over low-medium heat, and saute the garlic until pale golden.
- At this point, add the tomato puree and a couple of basil leaves, then saute for 10 minutes, stirring as needed.
- Add salt to taste.
- Finally, place the pan far from the heat, covered.
MOZZARELLA AND PARMIGIANO REGGIANO
- First of all, reduce the mozzarella to tiny cubes.
- Save a few cubes per serving for the decoration, and pour the others into a bowl.
- Then, grate the Parmigiano Reggiano, saving one spoon for the decoration.
COOKING GNOCCHI
- If you want to prepare gnocchi from scratch, here you can find my recipe! Otherwise, use packaged gnocchi.
- Pour the tomato sauce into a pan big enough to contain the gnocchi and the mozzarella, discarding the garlic and the cooked basil leaves.
- Now, fill a 5-quart pot with water and bring it to a boil.
- Then, add 4.5 tbsp of salt to the boiling water and cook the gnocchi until they back to the surface.
- Once ready, drain the gnocchi and pour them into the tomato sauce.
GNOCCHI, TOMATO, AND CHEESE
- Now, pre-heat the oven to 395°F (200° C).
- Toss the gnocchi and the sauce far from the flame, adding the mozzarella (except the cubes we saved for the decoration) and Parmigiano Reggiano once at a time.
- You want to melt the cheese with the help of the gnocchi heat.
- Eventually, add the hand-braked basil leaves, and toss one last time.
- Once ready, pour the gnocchi into a baking casserole or single-serving baking cocotte.
- Finally decorate the surface of the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina with the remainder mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano.
BAKING GNOCCHI ALLA SORRENTINA
- Bake the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina 395°F (200° C) for 15 minutes.
- Once ready, let the gnocchi rest for 10 minutes, and serve!
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 1993Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 300mgCarbohydrates 363gFiber 18gSugar 6gProtein 65g
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