Gnocchi alla sorrentina — potato gnocchi baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella

dairy Italian · regular · 105 min, including 50 hands-on

Thursday's gnocchi: potato gnocchi coated in a San Marzano tomato sauce with garlic and basil, then baked with mozzarella, alla sorrentina.

easy version

Ingredients for two

Method

1. Put the whole, unpeeled potatoes in the 4-litre saucepan with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30–40 minutes, depending on size, until a knife reaches the centre without resistance. Drain, peel while still hot, holding them in a tea towel, then pass through a potato ricer. Spread the mash on the work surface for 10 minutes to release steam. Rinse the saucepan.
2. While the potatoes cook, make the sauce as for the easy method: drain the mozzarella dice on kitchen paper, crush the tomatoes and wash the basil. Gently cook the halved garlic cloves in 40 g oil for 2 minutes until pale golden, then remove. Add the tomatoes and 5 g salt and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon. Taste and adjust the salt, tear in half the basil and turn off the heat, leaving the pan on the unlit hob.
3. On a floured surface, gently work 100 g flour into the warm mash without prolonged kneading. The dough should stay soft and barely sticky; add up to 20 g more flour if it really sticks to your fingers. Roll four ropes, 2 cm in diameter, and cut into 2 cm pieces. Roll each over the back of a floured fork, pressing with your thumb to make a hollow on one side and ridges on the other to hold the sauce. Space out on the floured board. Start heating 2.5 litres of water in the rinsed 4-litre saucepan while rolling the ropes.
4. Add 25 g coarse salt to the boiling water, or 10 g per litre. Cook one test gnoccho at a gentle boil: it should float, hold together and become tender. If it falls apart, gather the dough, work in another 10–20 g flour, keeping within the 120 g limit, then roll, cut and ridge again.
5. Preheat the oven to 220°C with the shelf near the top. Bring the sauce back to a simmer over a low heat. Cook the gnocchi in two batches, lifting them out with a slotted spoon 20–30 seconds after they float and adding them to the sauce over a very low heat. Ladle out 50 g cooking water.
6. Once both batches are in the sauce, add the 50 g cooking water and heat for 30–60 seconds over a medium heat, gently shaking the pan rather than crushing with a spoon, until glossy and coated. Transfer to the baking dish, tuck in the mozzarella dice and sprinkle with Parmesan.
7. Bake at 220°C for 8–10 minutes, until the mozzarella stretches and the edges sizzle; grill for 1–2 minutes for golden patches. Finish with the remaining torn basil and a drizzle of the 10 g oil. Serve immediately.

Homemade egg-free gnocchi: 500 g potatoes yield about 400 g flesh. The time includes cooking, drying the mash, shaping and baking. Never use a blender, which makes the mash gluey.

On your plate

Cooking tips

Make the sauce the day before; cook the gnocchi just before serving. Drain the mozzarella well: a poorly drained ball releases water in the oven and makes the bake soggy. Fresh cheese gnocchi also work, as this is a dairy dinner. For homemade gnocchi, choose floury potatoes; wet mash needs too much flour and makes heavy gnocchi. Reheat leftovers the next day in the oven for 10 minutes, covered with foil.

Equipment : 28 cm sauté pan, 4-litre saucepan, slotted spoon, 20 × 30 cm baking dish, grater, potato ricer and large board for the homemade version

Gnocchi alla sorrentina, a Sunday dish from the Sorrento peninsula: potato gnocchi baked with tomato and basil sauce, fior di latte and Parmesan. In Rome, giovedì gnocchi means Thursday is gnocchi day.