Irresistible Cheese Pull and Rich Tomato Sauce
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is a soft potato pasta tossed in a rich tomato sauce with the most delectable cheese pull.
This traditional Sorrento dish feels like a cozy Sunday and is terrific at every local restaurant.
I had the opportunity to partake in a cooking class in a cooking school here in Sorrento, where the staff guided us through each step of making this traditional dish.
Upon arrival, there were five stations set up for the class to settle into.
Mastering The Art Of Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina
We began by gathering around the kitchen where the chef showed us how the potatoes should look when they are finished boiling.
We each got a potato and were tasked with peeling the skin off.
After our potatoes were completely skinned we put the potatoes in a potato ricer. This felt as if we were children again playing with a playdough set.
Now that our potato was in small rice form we poured a dixie cup amount of flour and a dash of parmesan cheese into the bright red bowls.
Combining the potato and flour we needed to make a dough ball.
Taking the dough ball out of the bowl we cut it into four equal parts. This step I will admit is where I was not so great.
With the four chunks of dough, we had to roll each into a long skinny snake. I was struggling at first as there was too much flour on the table!
However, when the chef came over to offer his expertise, he recommended that when rolling the dough we should only be using our fingertips.
Once he said this I was rolling the snakes like it was my life’s work.
The next step was my favorite, lining up the snake-shaped dough, pouring flour over them, and then cutting the lines into small bite-sized pieces.
Everyone at my table made so many different shapes of the gnocchi, which made all of the staff who were circulating laugh.
Heading towards the kitchen we got to watch the gnocchi boil which only took one minute and then watched them put the gnocchi in the saucepan.
Unlike many Americanized recipes for sauce, the sauce was only olive oil, garlic for taste, basil for smell and taste, and tomatoes.
It is this simplicity that makes for such rich flavors.
Everyone got the chance to try the figure eight way of flipping the pasta around in the sauce.
I will admit this is not for the weak. I will need to lift some weights before attempting this again.
The chef added the mozzarella into the pan and added some of the water that the pasta was
boiled in.
We then got to plate our gnocchi and indulged in all of our hard work.
This experience
was amazing!
The staff was phenomenal. The recipe will be one I try again when I am home and missing Sorrento!
A presto,
Hannah
