Gnocco fritto
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 20 min
Servings: 6
This was a request from Katelyn as we had it at Gimlet in Melbourne and she was craving it at home. It's ultimately puffed fried dough served with cheese and cured meat like mortadella, and it's a tasty way to start a meal.
Ingredients
- 160ml (5.4 fl oz) warm water
- 4g (0.14 oz) dry active yeast
- 50g (1.8 oz) lard at room temperature (for the dough)
- 350g of plain flour (ap flour), plus more for dusting
- 400g (14 oz) lard or oil for frying
- salt
- sliced cured meats to serve (e.g. mortadella)
- sliced cheese to serve (e.g. pecorino)
Directions
- To make the dough, add the flour, 50g of lard, and warm water to a bowl. Mix until the dough has formed, then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-6 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Place the dough into a bowl, cover it, and let it rest for 1-2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
- Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it to roughly 3mm (1/8 inch) thick. Cut the dough into small squares using a pasta roller or a bench scraper.
- Heat the oil in a pan to 160-170°C (320-340°F). Once the oil is hot, start frying the Gnocco Fritto, flipping them halfway through cooking. Fry in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, which would cause the oil temperature to drop too quickly.
- Once the Gnocco Fritto are fried, remove them from the oil and place them on a wire rack to drain.
- Serve the Gnocco Fritto while they are still hot with sliced cured meats and cheese on the side. They make the perfect complement to any antipasto board.