Pillows of leavened dough fried in strutto until they balloon hollow and golden, eaten hot with cold Parma salumi draped over so the fat softens against the crust.

Torta fritta is Parma's name for the fried dough eaten across Emilia, gnocco fritto in Modena and chisolino toward Piacenza. Frying in strutto, rendered pork fat, ties it to the pig economy of the plain; the contrast of scalding pillow and cool prosciutto or culatello is the whole idea. Trattorias serve it by the basket as the opening move of any serious Parma meal, and the city stages contests over whose puffs highest.

Where to eat Torta fritta in Parma

4 editor picks for Torta fritta in Parma, ranked by editorial score. All Parma signature dishes · Torta fritta across every city.

  • Trattoria Corrieri

    Order Torta fritta with Prosciutto di Parma, then tortelli d'erbetta.

    Trattoria Corrieri fills an old posthouse courtyard near Parma's Parco Ducale with torta fritta, tortelli d'erbetta and anolini served all day long.

    DetailsBook a tableDirections

  • Gallo d'Oro

    Order Torta fritta with the mixed salumi board and a Lambrusco.

    Gallo d'Oro keeps tavern hours behind Parma's town hall, frying torta fritta for salumi boards from noon to nearly midnight under old vaulted ceilings.

    DetailsBook a tableDirections

  • Trattoria del Grillo

    Order Torta fritta with prosciutto crudo, about 6.50 euro the basket.

    Trattoria del Grillo in Vigatto won TV Parma's contest for the city's best torta fritta, pairing the fried puffs with Ponte Romano prosciutto crudo.

    DetailsDirections

  • Antica Osteria della Ghiaia

    Order Torta fritta with salumi; add the tortelli before the baskets win.

    Antica Osteria della Ghiaia fries torta fritta by the basket near Parma's old market and hosts a tortellata every 23 June for the feast of San Giovanni.

    DetailsDirections

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Tasting and Biking Parma

Enjoy a easy bike tour to visit a Parmigiano Reggiano cheesefactory and see all production chain, to know the secrets of this great cheese and the huge storage with th...

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Make it at home

Serves Makes about 30 pieces3 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 500g 00 flour
  • 10g fresh yeast
  • 250ml warm milk or water
  • 30g softened strutto or butter, plus 1kg strutto or neutral oil for frying
  • 10g salt, pinch of sugar

Method

  1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm liquid, then knead with flour, salt, sugar and the softened fat into a smooth dough. Rise covered for 2 hours.
  2. Roll to 3mm and cut into diamonds roughly 8cm on the long side.
  3. Heat the strutto to 180C. Fry a few diamonds at a time, spooning fat over them so they inflate, about 40 seconds per side.
  4. Drain on paper, salt lightly and rush to the table while hollow and hot.
  5. Drape prosciutto, coppa or culatello over each pillow so it warms as you eat.

Editor tip. Strutto is traditional and worth finding, but a clean-flavoured oil works; what matters is real heat so the pillows inflate.

Common allergens: Gluten.