Cooking Lesson with Salvatore

Salvatore - Chef Extraordinaire

Gnocchi making!

"This is the perfect gnocchi - the ones I made!"

Only fresh basil and herbs will do!

Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina - After the mozzarella is added!  Bellisima!

I have been wanting to learn some true Neopolitan dishes to prepare in the years to come.... So, I will share my newly learned "Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina" with you!  Recently attended a cooking class taught by "Salvatore" who has been cooking since age 8 --and has been the chef at a famous Neopolitan Restaurant for years. Although we made our own "Gnocchi" dough -- I recommend buying the gnocchi at the store and using the recipe below to make the Italian sauce. Making homemade gnocchi dough is simply not worth the trouble! The sauce can be frozen and then used again for any pasta dish. Salvatore was a bit grumpy -- and none of our Gnocchi dough was quite good enough for his expertise! He may be a great chef - but not so great of an instructor! Not the typical "charming italian" that you would expect. Nonetheless, it was a fun class and I am eager to make this at home! Just thought I would share...... The sauce is delicious!

Serves 10:

Brown and cook 5-6 pieces of veal or beef in large pot with water. Broth should only be about 1-2" in bottom of pot. Add one medium whole onion, and steam with lid on until beef and onion are tender. Broth will begin to get darker. Add bit of white wine and continue to cook/steam.

Use Italian sauce: Tagliamonte (Passata Di Pomodoro) 5-6 jars.

Remove whole onion right before adding sauce. Add 5-6 jars of sauce to beef stock. After adding sauce, add a bit of water to each jar and shake, adding to mixture - to ensure all of the sauce is used.

Simmer on low for at least 30 minutes.

Cut 4 balls of fresh mozzarella di buffala, into small pieces, and add to sauce. Sauce will turn a lighter shade of orange/pink. Continue to stir while mozzarella melts. Sauce will be laden with mozzarella.

Add gnocchi to boiling water until it floats to the top. Drain.

Add gnocchi to sauce, stir, and garnish with fresh basil on plate. Sprinkle with fresh parmesean. Delicious!

If you wish to freeze sauce, use the sauce before the mozzarella has been added to it.