Recipe : Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

This is Superman’s favourite pasta dish. The name derives from the town of Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast, however it is found on menus throughout the Campania region. As his friends know, SM doesn’t like overly complicated food, and this pasta dish suits him perfectly. Best made with fresh tomato sauce, I have also included the recipe for this. If you want the instructions for making gnocchi, see the link below to Napoli Unplugged.

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

Serves: 4

 750g potato gnocchi
1.5 cups tomato sauce (recipe below)
350g mozzarella cheese, cubed
4 basil leaves, plus one sprig for garnish
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

• Bring 8 cups of well-salted water to a boil.
  
• Place the gnocchi in the boiling water a few at a time, making sure the water remains at boiling point.
• In a pan, heat the tomato sauce.  As soon as the gnocchi rise to the top of the water, drain off the water and place them into the pan with the tomato sauce.
• Mix together, adding the mozzarella and parmesan as you go, allowing it to melt.
• Serve into bowls, adding basil as a garnish. Enjoy.
  

To Make the Tomato Sauce:

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1-1.5kg fresh tomatoes, peeled & seeded (NB: you need to buy 2x this)
2 tsps salt
1-2 tsps sugar (optional – if using any Australian tomatoes, inc. Roma – add this)
4 basil leaves 

• Using a pan, heat the olive oil and sweat the garlic for 3-4 minutes over a medium heat.  
• Add tomatoes, salt and sugar and increase the heat to medium-high.  Bring the mixture to a boil and cook off the liquid for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. 
• Place the tomatoes in a colander to drain, reserving the tomato liquid.   
• Blend the sauce using a barmix or a food processor, as little or as much as you want according to preferred texture. 
• Return the sauce to the pot, add the basil leaves, and cook on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until it reaches the desired consistency.  If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved tomato juice to it.  You can remove the garlic and basil before use, but I don’t bother.

NB: Unless you are using italian varieties of tomatoes that are naturally sweet such as San Marzano, add sugar to the tomato sauce.

Adapted from Napoli Unplugged http://napoliunplugged.com/Gnocchi-alla-Sorrentina-A-Taste-of-Sorrento.html