Sorrentina Paccheri With Tomato Basil and Mozzarella

Have you seen pasta alla sorrentina on an Italian restaurant menu or maybe you’ve tried in Italy and want to recreate it at home? Then, this recipe is perfect for you. It’s delicious, authentic and easy to replicate. Let’s make it together.

Is Gnocchi Sorrentina Vegetarian?

Yes, traditional Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is vegetarian. It’s primarily composed of gnocchi (made with potatoes, flour, and sometimes egg), tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil.

Our Sorrentina Paccheri with tomato basil and mozzarella, which we are making today, is also vegetarian.

Where did paccheri originate?

Paccheri pasta originated from Campania region in Italy. It’s a large, tube-shaped pasta, similar to giant rigatoni, traditionally used in Neapolitan cuisine.

Paccheri Rigatoni

What is the difference between paccheri and rigatoni?

The primary difference between paccheri and rigatoni lies in their size. Both are tube-shaped pastas, but paccheri is much larger. Rigatoni is typically shorter and wider, with ridges down the length, while paccheri is usually smooth and more similar to a wide noodle that’s been rolled into a large tube.

Because of its size, paccheri is often stuffed with ingredients, while rigatoni is more commonly used with robust, hearty sauces.

Why are we using paccheri instead of gnocchi?

We chose to pair our Sorrentina sauce with paccheri instead of gnocchi for these reasons:

Paccheri is a pasta shape from Campania, while gnocchi originates in Northern Italy; so our version is more local.
Paccheri gives this dish an extra dimensional twist: it gives room for the sauce to get in the tube holes and sit there while being baked, and it adds a bite to the final dish.

Easy Paccheri alla Sorrentina Recipe

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As you can see in the image above, we’re making Paccheri with tomato basil and mozzarella two ways. You can do the same or just choose one option.

Paccheri with tomato basil and mozzarella Sorrentina

Take Sorrento to your kitchen. Make this traditional recipe: Sorrentina Paccheri with tomato basil and mozzarella.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword paccheri, sorrentina, tomato basil and mozzarella

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings 2

Calories 850kcal

Author Alessia

Cost €7

Equipment

1 large pot
1 medium pot
1 medium baking dish
1 cheese grater
1 knife
1 silicone spoon
1 pasta ladle
1 garlic press

Ingredients

250 gr Artisan Paccheri
750 ml Italian tomato passata
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp Belmorso Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 lt
salt and pepper to season
1 handful fresh basil
1 Mozzarella di Bufala fresh or 2
1 block aged parmesan to grate I like to use 12 months aged. It's tastier but not too hard to grate and melt.

Instructions

Mince the garlic.
Sauté in your medium pot with a tablespoon of Belmorso EVOO.
Add the tomato passata.
Season with salt and pepper, and leave to simmer for 25 minutes over low heat, with the lid on.
In the meantime, you can start timing yourself to boil the water for the paccheri and cook it, so it's ready with the tomato sauce.
Once both sauce and pasta have cooked and simmered, take them off the heat, and drain the paccheri, leaving some pasta water aside.
Add one tablespoon of Belmorso EVOO to your pasta sauce and mix, as soon as you take it off the heat.
Mix the paccheri with half of the tomato sauce.
Save the rest of the sauce in a container and freeze to use for your bruschetta, pizza or pasta bakes.
Take the mozzarella out of the water and break into pieces over the paccheri and tomato. Mix until the mozzarella starts melting.
Add your basil and mix.
Now you have 2 options:
1. Serve as is with a generous grating of aged parmesan
2. Transfer to a baking dish, grate the aged parmesan, and bake it for 10 minutes.
Either way is delicious. Buon Appetito!
PS: If you choose to bake it, you should mix half the mozzarella with the pasta and the sauce and then break the rest on top of the pasta, once you've transferred to the dish.

Notes

The above calories are for a portion of this pasta, with 125 gr of paccheri.

Try This Other Paccheri Recipe

If you love paccheri, make sure to save this blog and come again next week. We’ll be posting 4 paccheri recipes throughout the next month, and each recipe is from a different region of Italy.

Until then, here’s another paccheri recipe you can try:

Paccheri wtih Authentic Italian Meat Sauce Recipe (Ragù bianco)

Alessia