A delicious, classic recipe from Campania with just a few simple ingredients, gnocchi alla Sorrentina is made from potato gnocchi, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil.
Drain all the excess liquid from the mozzarella and cut into cubes. Place the mozzarella in a colander in the sink so that it continues to drain any excess liquid.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil to cook the gnocchi.
To make the tomato sauce, start by peeling and finely chopping half an onion. In a large skillet or saute pan, pour a drizzling of extra virgin olive oil and place oven medium heat, then add the onion and saute until golden.
Next, add the tomato puree and season with salt. Cook the tomato sauce for about 20 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon so that it does not stick to the bottom and burn.
Turn off the heat before the tomato sauce thickens too much and add the fresh basil. Do not chop it, but leave the basil leaves whole.
When the water is boiling you can add the potato gnocchi to the boiling water. Boil the gnocchi for 2 minutes or until they rise to the surface, but be sure not to overcook the gnocchi as they will turn to mush. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and transfer directly into an ovenproof baking dish.
Drizzle the potato gnocchi with tomato sauce and add half the mozzarella cheese cubes at a time and then fold in and repeat until you have used it all. Do not stir too much as you don’t want the mozzarella to form a blob and stick together, but instead you want it to be distributed throughout the dish and melt while baking.
Finally, sprinkle the gnocchi alla Sorrentina with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 390°F | 200 °C for 10-15 minutes, until the Parmesan cheese turns golden and the mozzarella is melted.
Serve the baked gnocchi immediately while still hot by removing a single portion and putting on an individual plate. You can decorate the plate with fresh basil leaves if desired.