Gnocchi alla sorrentina with mozzarella di bufala

Gnocchi alla sorrentina is a traditional first course from Campania that sees gnocchi cooked in the oven. This is a really quick and easy preparation to do. You can use homemade potato dumplings but also bought dumplings that you find on supermarket shelves. In this case, preparing them will be even faster. Let's fasten our aprons and immediately discover the original recipe and the most delicious variations to make even in the pan!

INGREDIENTS

POTATO DUMPLINGS 1 kg

TOMATO SAUCE 400 gr

BUFFALO MOZZARELLA 250 gr

GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE 3 tbsp

FRESH BASIL to taste

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL to taste

SALT to taste

PREPARATION

Cut the buffalo mozzarella and put it to drain. Heat the tomato sauce in a pan without adding anything else. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Cook the gnocchi by throwing them in plenty of salted water, drain them as soon as they come to the surface, checking the level of cooking. Toss the potato gnocchi with the tomato sauce. Pour the gnocchi into four small baking dishes (the Neapolitan tradition sees earthenware bowls as containers for gnocchi alla sorrentina) lightly greased with oil. Spread the diced buffalo mozzarella on top and complete with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. Put the baking dishes in the oven and bake for 10/15 minutes, until the mozzarella begins to spin and a nice golden crust has formed on top of the gnocchi. Remove from the oven, decorate with fresh basil leaves and serve your tasty gnocchi alla sorrentina piping hot.

As also recommended the original recipe for gnocchi alla sorrentina sees the use of buffalo mozzarella. It is essential to drain it well, to avoid having wet gnocchi. Alternatively, you can use fior di latte, mozzarella made with cow's milk. As for cooking, in extreme cases you can also do it without an oven, in which case you will get gnocchi alla sorrentina in a pan. It will be enough to skip everything for a few minutes. They will be fast, and even if they will not be au gratin, the result will still be... phenomenal!