Gnocco fritto: deep-fried dough pillows
You can wake us day and night for an Italian aperitivo platter loaded with mortadella, Parma ham and preferably burrata and toast too. Or better yet, gnocco fritto: little dough pillows that you use just like toast to get all those delicious things into your mouth. Twice as delicious and easy to make—in short: a win-win.
These little Italian dough pillows are puffy and wonderfully crisp. You eat them with charcuterie or cheese from the aperitivo platter, but you can also serve them on their own with a meal. They’re delicious as they are, especially when served straight after frying.
How to eat them
How you eat gnocco fritto is entirely up to you: take two with a slice of mortadella in between and you have a mini sandwich. You can also unfold the gnocco fritto and top it. Or spread soft cheese on it and eat it straight away. Or how about a sweet version with Nutella on top or a huge amount of powdered sugar sprinkled over it? Absolutely perfect for dessert.
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How to make them
They’re also very easy to make yourself: Take flour (preferably very fine flour specially made for pasta, like this one from AH), water or milk, olive oil or lard, yeast or baking powder, and a little salt. Knead into a dough, let it rise, roll it out thinly and cut it into small rectangles. Then deep-fry the pieces of dough in a deep fryer or a deep pan filled with a thick layer of vegetable oil. Here you’ll find the full recipe.
