Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

This recipe comes from Salerno on the Amalfi coast, where mozzarella is plentiful and ox heart tomatoes are eaten fresh for their meaty, yet delicate sweetness. Here, Leonardo Gelsomino from Melbourne’s Yak Bar talks us through how to prepare your own gnocchi from scratch.

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• serves

  4

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 kg potatoes
• 15 g salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 300 g flour
• Napoli sauce
• 10 basil leaves
• 4 balls buffalo mozzarella
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan
• salt and pepper, to season

Instructions

Boil the potatoes in their skins. When cooked, drain and peel the potatoes while still hot.

Push the potatoes through a rice sieve and into a large bowl.

Make a well in the centre and add the salt, egg yolk and flour and mix to make a dough. Roll out the dough, cutting into gnocchi-sized pieces.

Cook the gnocchi in salted water. They are cooked when they rise to the top. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon.

Add the gnocchi to a pan of Napoli sauce with fresh basil leaves (leave a few leaves aside).

Place the gnocchi on a plate, top with the mozzarella and grill until the mozzarella melts.

To serve, sprinkle with the parmesan and the reminder of the basil leaves.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.