Gnocco fritto is Emilia's puffed pillow of fried bread dough, served hot with a board of mortadella, prosciutto di Parma, salame and squacquerone. Eat warm, pulled apart with the hands.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Gnocco fritto, also known as crescentina fritta or torta fritta depending on the Emilian sub-region, has been a peasant tavern food since the 16th century. The dough is lard-enriched yeast bread, rolled thin and deep-fried in lard or oil, served immediately while it still puffs. In Bologna and Modena it is served as antipasto with the salumi board; in Reggio Emilia it is wrapped around the meat. The dish travels with the local wine, Lambrusco, which the bubbles in the gnocco are said to imitate. Diana, Trattoria Anna Maria, La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese and many neighbourhood osterias serve it; the fresh-fried version arrives hot enough to burn fingers.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Tip from the editors. The oil temperature is the only thing that matters; below 170C they soak fat and stay flat. Eat within 5 minutes of frying or they collapse.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Trattoria Anna Maria in Bologna near Via Zamboni is the city's most-photographed sfoglia trattoria, run by Anna Maria Monari since 1985 with hand-rolled tortellini.
Signature: Tagliatelle al ragu, Tortellini in brodo, Lasagne verdi
Order: Tagliatelle al ragu, tortellini in brodo, lasagne verdi, gnocco fritto.
Tip: Book a week ahead for dinner. Lunch is calmer and the sfogline still hand-roll pasta in the window between services.
Why locals love it: Saragozza's 28-seat osteria from Daniele Minarelli and Valeria Tonelli; the canonical Emilian carte at full editorial precision.
Tip: Book three weeks ahead by phone; the room seats 28 and the lunch service has the easiest tables.
Why locals love it: Bolognina's quiet, neighbourhood-scaled trattoria; the tagliatelle al ragu is the city's most-cited by editors but tourists never wander north of the station.
Tip: Book three weeks ahead online; lunch is the easier seating and the kitchen runs the same carte at both meals.
Why locals love it: Mazzini's no-website neighbourhood osteria with the fixed-price set carte; locals fill the dining room and the tourist guides miss it.
Tip: Book by phone two days ahead; the 25-euro set carte runs at lunch only and is the value play.
More cities are in research. Want gnocco fritto covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.