Chef Graziella
Arancini alla Siciliana
Golden fried rice balls from Sicily, where Arab culinary influence meets Italian home cooking. The saffron-perfumed rice conceals a heart of slow-simmered ragù and sweet peas.
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Coccoli Fiorentini
Created by
Golden puffs of fried dough from Florence, served warm with creamy stracchino cheese and thin slices of Tuscan prosciutto. The kind of antipasto that disappears before you can set down the platter.
Appetizers & Snacks
Italian, Tuscan
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
30 min
Active Time
20 min cook•2 hr total
Yield6 servings (about 30 coccoli)
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.
Coccoli emerged from the Florentine tradition of frying bread dough in rendered pork fat, a practice common among rural families who butchered their own pigs each winter. The pairing with stracchino and prosciutto became standard in Florentine wine bars and trattorias during the mid-20th century, transforming humble fried dough into a beloved antipasto.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bread flour
Quantity
500g
active dry yeast
Quantity
7g (1 packet)
warm water
Quantity
300ml
about 110°F
fine sea salt
Quantity
10g
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
vegetable oil or lard
Quantity
about 1 liter
for frying
stracchino cheese
Quantity
250g
at room temperature
prosciutto toscano
Quantity
150g
sliced thin
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bread flour | 500g |
| active dry yeast | 7g (1 packet) |
| warm waterabout 110°F | 300ml |
| fine sea salt | 10g |
| extra virgin olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| vegetable oil or lardfor frying | about 1 liter |
| stracchino cheeseat room temperature | 250g |
| prosciutto toscanosliced thin | 150g |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 4-quart pot or Dutch oven for frying
- •Deep-fry thermometer
- •Slotted spoon or spider
- •Bench scraper or sharp knife
Instructions
- 1
Activate the yeast
Dissolve the yeast in warm water. The water should feel like a warm bath, not hot. Hot water kills yeast. Let it sit five minutes until foamy. If it does not foam, your yeast is dead and you must start again with fresh yeast.
- 2
Make the dough
Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the salt to the flour, not directly to the yeast water. Pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms, then turn it onto a work surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky but not sticky. It will feel alive under your hands.
Resist adding more flour. A slightly soft dough produces lighter coccoli. If it sticks to your hands, wet them with a drop of water rather than adding flour. - 3
Let the dough rise
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour. The dough is ready when you press it with a finger and the indent remains.
- 4
Shape the coccoli
Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Do not punch it down aggressively. Gently flatten it into a rectangle about one inch thick. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into rough pieces about the size of a walnut, approximately one inch across. The shapes should be irregular. This is rustic food, not pastry.
- 5
Heat the oil
Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pot to a depth of at least three inches. Heat to 350°F. Use a thermometer. Guessing the temperature of frying oil leads to greasy, heavy results. The oil should shimmer but not smoke. Test with a small piece of dough: it should sink, then immediately rise to the surface surrounded by vigorous bubbles.
Lard produces the most authentic flavor and the lightest texture. Florentine cooks traditionally used strutto, rendered pork fat. Vegetable oil works adequately if you prefer. - 6
Fry the coccoli
Working in batches of six or seven, carefully lower the dough pieces into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pot. The coccoli will puff dramatically and turn golden, about two minutes per batch. Turn them once with a slotted spoon to ensure even coloring. They should be deep gold on all sides, hollow inside.
- 7
Drain and season
Transfer the fried coccoli to a plate lined with paper towels. Season immediately with a light sprinkle of fine salt while still hot. The salt adheres to the oil on the surface. Continue frying in batches, maintaining the oil temperature between each.
- 8
Serve properly
Arrange the warm coccoli on a serving board or platter. Place the stracchino in a small bowl alongside, and drape the prosciutto in loose folds nearby. Guests tear open the coccoli and spread them with the soft cheese, then wrap a slice of prosciutto around or eat it in alternating bites. This is food for eating with your hands while standing around the kitchen, talking and waiting for dinner.
Chef Tips
- •Stracchino can be difficult to find outside Italy. Crescenza is the same cheese by another name. In desperation, a very ripe, room-temperature taleggio can substitute, though the texture differs.
- •The dough can rest in the refrigerator overnight after the first rise. Bring it to room temperature for one hour before shaping and frying. This slow fermentation develops more flavor.
- •Do not shape the pieces too uniformly or too small. Irregular chunks about the size of a walnut produce the best texture: some parts thinner and extra crisp, others thicker and pillowy.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can be made the night before and refrigerated after the first rise. Cold dough is actually easier to handle and cut.
- •Coccoli must be fried just before serving. They do not hold. Within 20 minutes they become leathery and sad.
- •Bring the stracchino to room temperature at least one hour before serving so it spreads easily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 210g)
Calories
710 calories
Total Fat
40 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
28 g
Cholesterol
55 mg
Sodium
1140 mg
Total Carbohydrates
64 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
25 g
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