WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Dinner Ideas from the Rezdôra Kitchen
Chicken alla Sorrentina
An Italian-inspired chicken dinner with tomato, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh basil.
From Gnocchi alla Sorrentina to Chicken alla Sorrentina
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina are one of those wonderfully simple dishes that show just how much Italian home cooking can do with a handful of good ingredients.
Originally from Campania and closely associated with Sorrento and the Sorrentine Peninsula, the traditional dish combines potato gnocchi with tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, and fresh basil, then finishes in the oven until bubbling, golden, and irresistible.
It’s a combination I’ve always loved — but one evening I wanted those same comforting flavours in a lighter dinner, without the gnocchi.
So I thought: why not chicken?
I replaced the gnocchi with pieces of chicken and kept the ingredients that give the original dish its unmistakable character: tomato, mozzarella, Parmesan and basil.
The result was Chicken alla Sorrentina — not a traditional Sorrentine recipe, but my home-cooking take on a classic Italian combination.
It has everything I want from a family dinner: tender chicken, rich tomato sauce, melting mozzarella, a golden Parmesan topping and plenty of fresh basil.
And that is exactly what What’s for Dinner? is about: taking inspiration from the food we love and turning it into something that works for dinner tonight.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 500 g chicken breast
- 300 g tomato passata
- 100 g mozzarella
- 1/2 onion
- 4 fresh basil leaves, plus extra to finish
- 20 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- 00 flour, for coating
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fine salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to make it
Finely chop the onion and gently soften it in a little extra virgin olive oil. Add the tomato passata, season with salt and add a small ladle of water. Cover and cook gently for around 20 minutes.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and lightly coat them in flour. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and sear the chicken over a high heat for 2–3 minutes, turning until lightly golden.
Season, add the tomato sauce and cook together for another couple of minutes.
Add the mozzarella, torn basil and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to an ovenproof dish if necessary and finish with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Place under a hot grill at 220°C for 8–10 minutes, or until the mozzarella has melted and the top is lightly golden.
Finish with fresh basil and serve piping hot.
Why I love it
It has the soul of Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, but turns those familiar flavours into a completely different family dinner.
And for me, that’s the pleasure of home cooking: traditions don’t always have to be copied exactly. Sometimes they can simply be the starting point for tonight’s dinner.
What’s for dinner at your house tonight?
Find the video recipe on Rezdôra Home on Instagram, and follow along for more real home-cooking inspiration.