Coccoli Fiorentini

Every region of Italy has its fried bread, and every region believes its version is superior. Emilia-Romagna has gnocco fritto. Naples has pizza fritta. Florence has coccoli, which means little darlings, and the name is accurate. These small, irregular puffs of yeasted dough fry into something golden outside, hollow and steaming inside, impossibly light despite being cooked in fat.

The genius is in the accompaniments. Stracchino is a soft, spreadable cheese from Lombardy, mild and creamy with a slight tang. You tear open a hot coccolo, smear it with cheese, and the heat melts the stracchino just enough that it becomes almost liquid. Add a fold of prosciutto toscano, which is saltier and more assertive than prosciutto di Parma, and you have a perfect bite: crisp, soft, rich, salty, and fleeting.

Florentine trattorias serve these before dinner with glasses of young Chianti. They are meant to be eaten standing up, crowded around a wooden board, reaching past each other for the last one. This is not elegant food. This is the food that makes you feel welcome.