Sorrentinos de Queso

About This Recipe

Uruguayan-Italian fusion: large round pasta pillows filled with ground beef and cheese, served in butter and sage sauce or simple tomato sauce. Each sorrentino is a little pocket of rich flavor. Rooted in the everyday cooking of Uruguayan kitchens, Sorrentinos de Queso balances technique and tradition: the ground beef is treated with care, drawing on time-honoured ratios that locals have refined across generations. The dish carries an unmistakable sensory signature — aromas that fill the kitchen as it cooks, layered textures that reveal themselves bite by bite, and a depth of flavour that comes from patient seasoning rather than shortcuts. Whether served as a weeknight dinner or as the centrepiece of a celebratory table, it reflects a regional pantry where local produce, seasoning habits and cooking vessels shape the final result. Home cooks who make this dish often note how forgiving it is once the core method is understood, and how a few small choices — the freshness of the ground beef, the order of additions, the resting time at the end — separate a good version from a memorable one. This recipe walks through those choices so the dish arrives with the character it has on its home turf.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 400 gground beef
• 2 cupsfresh cheese
• 500 gfresh pasta dough
• 1 mediumonion, finely diced
• 100 gbutter
• 8 leavesfresh sage

Instructions

1. 1

   Make Filling

   Cook onion until soft. Add ground beef and brown. Mix with cheese, salt, and pepper. Cool.

2. 2

   Roll Pasta

   Roll fresh pasta dough thin. Cut 3-inch circles using a glass or pasta cutter.

3. 3

   Fill Sorrentinos

   Place spoonful of filling on pasta circle. Fold in half, then bring edges together to form a pouch. Seal edges well.

   Use wet fingers to seal edges

4. 4

   Cook

   Boil sorrentinos in salted water. They're done when they float to surface and stay there 1 minute.

5. 5

   Finish

   Toss with butter browned with sage leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Top with grated cheese.

Variations

• •

  Use spinach and ricotta filling

• •

  Serve with tomato sauce instead of butter

• •

  Add grated Parmesan to filling

• •

  Vegetarian: replace the main protein with mushrooms, paneer, tofu or hearty beans for a meat-free version.

• •

  Spicier: add fresh chilli, a chilli paste or a pinch of cayenne with the aromatics for a warmer profile.

Storage

Freeze uncooked sorrentinos up to 1 month. Cook from frozen, adding 2 minutes to boiling time

Frequently Asked Questions