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: 9 restaurants across 2 cities.
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.
Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
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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.
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.
OrderTagliatelle al ragu, tortellini in brodo, lasagne verdi, gnocco fritto.
TipBook a week ahead for dinner. Lunch is calmer and the sfogline still hand-roll pasta in the window between services.
All'Osteria Bottega is saragozza's 28-seat osteria from daniele minarelli and valeria tonelli; the canonical emilian carte at full editorial precision.
Why locals goSaragozza's 28-seat osteria from Daniele Minarelli and Valeria Tonelli; the canonical Emilian carte at full editorial precision.
TipBook three weeks ahead by phone; the room seats 28 and the lunch service has the easiest tables.
Trattoria di Via Serra (Italian) in Bologna: Book three weeks ahead online; lunch is the easier seating and the kitchen runs the same carte at both meals.
Why locals goBolognina'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.
TipBook three weeks ahead online; lunch is the easier seating and the kitchen runs the same carte at both meals.
Osteria Broccaindosso is a italian room in Bologna. Book by phone two days ahead; the 25-euro set carte runs at lunch only and is the value play.
Why locals goMazzini's no-website neighbourhood osteria with the fixed-price set carte; locals fill the dining room and the tourist guides miss it.
TipBook by phone two days ahead; the 25-euro set carte runs at lunch only and is the value play.
Il Fantino keeps a time worn dining room on Modena's Via Donzi, a casual trattoria for gnocco fritto and tortelloni with butter and sage most days.
OrderThe gnocco fritto with a plate of cured meats to start.
TipEvenings are closed Sunday and Monday; portions run generous so pace yourself before the pasta course.
Da Enzo in Modena's centro storico is a warm family trattoria near the Synagogue, serving gnocco fritto, tigelle and Emilian classics nightly.
OrderThe gnocco fritto with cured meats and the zampone with mashed potato.
TipSaturday dinner runs until midnight, later than the rest of the week; the kitchen closes on Mondays.
Dispensa Emilia sells cheap tigelle and gnocco fritto on Modena's Via Emilia Est, a chain outpost offering combinations of five different fillings.
TryTigelle with a choice of five fillings
TipOutdoor seating suits families; open every day of the week with no midweek closing.
La Chersenta sells Pavullo style crescentina and gnocco fritto from a counter on Modena's Via Albinelli, cheap eating by the covered market.
TryCrescentina montanara with lardo and Parmigiano
TipClosed Sundays; the larger tigella grande, rare in the city centre, is worth trying here.
Antica Trattoria Cervetta has cooked Modenese classics on pedestrian Via Cervetta in Modena, an Accademia della Cucina choice closed on Thursdays.
OrderThe house Cervetta cutlet and coppa di testa with fried gnocco.
Why locals goRecognised by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, it still sits on a quiet pedestrian lane behind Piazza Grande that few itineraries include.
TipThe Cervetta cutlet and the house cake give the kitchen its name, order at least one.
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