Just think fried bread, stuffed with ham and salami or creamy soft cheese! Yeah, I know...So if you are on a diet best stop reading here.
Gnocco Fritto or, how we call it in Parma, Torta Fritta is a typical delicacy from Emilia Romagna and one of the reasons why I can't wait until the temperatures drop in autumn as my father in law refuses to make me Torta Fritta when it's over 10 degrees outside. Torta Fritta is great as an antipasto and pretty easy to prepare. Just plan it well ahead to give the dough enough time to rise. Here is the recipe step by step:
Gnocco Fritto or, how we call it in Parma, Torta Fritta is a typical delicacy from Emilia Romagna and one of the reasons why I can't wait until the temperatures drop in autumn as my father in law refuses to make me Torta Fritta when it's over 10 degrees outside. Torta Fritta is great as an antipasto and pretty easy to prepare. Just plan it well ahead to give the dough enough time to rise. Here is the recipe step by step:
Ingredients
Directions:
For the cheese board: Theoretically you can use any cheese you like but soft cheeses like gorgonzola, stracchino or mozzarella are great because you can fill the Torta Fritta with it.
For the coldcuts board: It's a typical dish from Emilia Romagna, so it is usually served with specialties from the region: Parma ham, coppa, salami, pancetta
- 300 g Plain flour (best type 00)
- 30g Pork lard or alternatively oil (if you have vegetarians at the dinner table)
- 15 g Fresh yeast
- 4 g (1 tsp) Salt
- 150 ml tepid water
- 2 litres sunflower oil for deep frying
Directions:
- Similar to making pasta, put the flour onto a working surface and make a little well. Put the pork lard or oil in the centre of the well, add the salt and the yeast, dissolve in the tepid water. Now mix everything together and knead for about 10 minutes. The consistency of the dough is very similar to pizza dough but a little bit softer and „fluffier“.
- Put the dough in a bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Let it rise for two hours or until it has doubled in size.
- After that put it back on the working surface (first put a bit of flour) and knead again for 3-5 minutes. Now roll it out with a rolling pin (5 mm thick). Depending on how much space you have, you might have to divide the dough in three parts.
- Now use a pastry wheel to cut out rectangles (10 x 8 cm) but don't worry if they have different sizes or are not all perfectly equal. I found that this takes a bit of practice, but hey we are talking comfort food, so who cares :-).
- Put them all on a tray and let them rise again. I'm not sure how long exactly but I usually prepare the cheese and coldcuts boards and heat up the oil in the meaqnwhile, so probabaly about 15 minutes. The oil should then have a temperature of 180-190 °C.
- Now start frying, but not more than 2-3 at the time. When you put them in the oil, they will go down to the bottom of the pot and then float back up after a few seconds, then they will also inflate. Fry each side until they are golden brown.
For the cheese board: Theoretically you can use any cheese you like but soft cheeses like gorgonzola, stracchino or mozzarella are great because you can fill the Torta Fritta with it.
For the coldcuts board: It's a typical dish from Emilia Romagna, so it is usually served with specialties from the region: Parma ham, coppa, salami, pancetta