Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

A typical Campanian dish, especially in Sorrento after which it is named. We pair this with a Vernaccia di San Gimignano Castello di Montaùto.

A traditional first course on Thursdays, but also on Sundays, this has few and simple ingredients, including homemade gnocchi (small potato dumplings). Here we use the artisanal ones from the small pasta-producer Pastificio Golino that still makes them the old-fashioned way.

Ingredients for 4 people:

1kg potato gnocchi, 1.5l tomato puree, 400g Campania DOP buffalo mozzarella, an ample amount of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, abundant basil leaves, extra-virgin olive oil as needed, garlic and salt.

Directions:

Prepare the tomato sauce by sautéing the unpeeled garlic in EVOO and then add the tomato puree, salt and basil and cook for about an hour.

Boil the gnocchi and remove them as they begin to float (a few minutes). Place the gnocchi in a terracotta pot with the sauce and add the grated parmigiana (about 6 tablespoons), broken up basil leaves and the mozzarella that has been perfectly squeeze-dried and cut into small ubes.

Mix everything together and finish by baking the gnocchi until a light crush forms.

Wine to pair:

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Docg Castello di Montaùto - Famiglia Cecchi

Straw yellow color with light golden hues. Refined in fragrance and intense in taste, to the mouth it is balanced and with the right amount of acidity, persistent.

Production area: San Gimignano, from vineyards on 280 mt above sea level on Pliocene soil with clay.

Grape varieties: Vernaccia di San Gimignano 90%, other white grape varieties 10%, spurred cordon trained and Guyot pruning technique. Vine density of 5.000 plants per hectare.

Wine making: Vinification off-skins with cold controller pre-fermentative maceration. Fermentation in stainless steel at a controlled temperature of 15 °C. Maceration 15 days. Fining in bottle starting from March after the harvest, minimum 3 months.

Alcoholic content: 13% vol.

Serving temperature: 10-12°C

Suggested food pairings: Risotto, fish dishes and cheese

THIS RECIPE IS OFFERED BY FAMIGLIA CECCHI