Naples & Campania · No.62 / 103
Pasta alla Sorrentina
Pasta alla Sorrentina
Fusilli is coated in garlic-and-basil tomato sauce, layered twice with mozzarella and Parmigiano, and broiled briefly.
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Meet the dish
A Sorrento-style baked pasta with tomato, mozzarella, and basil
Tomato, mozzarella, and basil associated with Sorrento become a short baked-pasta dish. The sauce reduces for 30 minutes, while two cheese layers melt under roughly five minutes of high heat rather than a long bake.
Pasta shapes to use
- Fusilli whose grooves hold tomato and melted cheese
Key ingredients
- Fusilli
- Tomato purée
- Mozzarella
- Parmigiano
- Basil
- Garlic
Follow the cooking scenes
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Step 1: Reduce basil tomato sauce
Flavor olive oil with garlic, add tomato purée and basil, and simmer gently for about 30 minutes until it coats fusilli. Remove the garlic and adjust the salt.
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Step 2: Build two pasta and cheese layers
Boil fusilli in salted water until al dente and coat it with tomato sauce. Spread half in a baking dish, scatter half the diced mozzarella and Parmigiano, then repeat.
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Step 3: Broil for about five minutes
Place the dish under a preheated broiler or in a very hot oven for about five minutes, until mozzarella melts and spots begin to brown. Remove promptly and add fresh basil.
What to watch for
- Drain diced mozzarella before layering. Excess whey would loosen the tomato sauce after its careful reduction.
- Stop the pasta at al dente and use the oven only to melt cheese. A prolonged bake dries the fusilli as it absorbs the remaining sauce.
What sets it apart
It shares tomato, mozzarella, and basil with gnocchi alla Sorrentina, but layers fusilli twice and finishes it with a brief high-heat bake.
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