Since a trip to Italy to go and see our friends Anne and Louis-Carl, I have been wanting to make these Gnocco Fritto. We had some in a small restaurant close to a lake and it was simply amazing. I knew it was not much more than bread, but the secret is using a quality “Lard”. I use the Iberico Pork fat which comes in 190g jars. You will need 2 of these to put into the pastry and to use as cooking oil.
Ingredients:
- 350g Flour
- 1 teaspoon of Yeast
- 160ml of warm Water (it is possible to do it with milk as well)
- A pinch of Salt
- 2 X 190g of Lard. 50g Lard for the pastry and the rest for the cooking
How to make:
- Dilute the yeast in the 160ml of warm water, leave until it foams a little
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl making a small well in the middle
- Mix until you have a nice elastic dough. Probably for 5 minutes.
- Make a ball out of the dough (tuck-in), leave in the bowl covered with cling film for 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Melt all the remainder of fat into a deep pan and bring to 170-180 degrees C.
- Roll the dough with some flour to make a thin sheet of dough about 3mm thick.
- Cut the dough with a sharp knife in 5 to 6cm squares.
- Dip the square pieces of dough into the frying pan and let cook until nice and golden. They will puff up nicely!
- Move onto a plate with a towel paper and eat immediately with some charcuteries or Italian Coppa or soft cheese! Wine is optional but recommended.
