When people think Italian food they think pizza, panini and pasta! After trying this delicious food I’m shocked this is not the most recommended dish. I don’t think I miss anything more than coccoli each time I return to the U.S. Coccoli, which actually means “to cuddle,” has been a popular street food among Florentines since the 50s. It is now found at many restaurants as an appetizer and in many aperitivo buffets. Coccoli is fried pizza dough made into little balls. The traditional way to eat it is with prosciutto and stracchino cheese. Stracchino is another delicacy I wish we could find easily in the U.S. It is soft and creamy without a rind. Little can replace it, the closest thing would be mascarpone. The traditional coccoli dish is fantastic. Made even more delicious with a thick balsamic sauce. I tried coccoli for the first time at a restaurant called Mosto Dolce, in Florence. Thankfully, this delicious food is a part of my weekly dinner with Smart Trip at Il Teatro. It is one of the many delicious appetizers in the first course! One of my favorite places to get coccoli is Il Coccolo is fairly new. I had the luxury of living 2 minutes away from it for several months. Now, a ten minute walk, it is still worth going out of the way for. This place offers the traditional coccoli, stuffed huge coccoli with all kinds of savory items and sweet coccoli! The stuffed coccoli is something else. My absolute recommendation: tartufo and gorgonzola. They have a wide variety of options, something for everyone. But the best of the best, for only 50 cents a piece, is the sweet coccoli. They cook them right on spot then put them in tins on a conveyor belt over your head. You watch it until it tips over on to the slide. You'll hear the little coccoli tumble down, where they are snatched up and put on a plate or in a bag for you. Then you get the treat of filling each coccolo ball with how every much you want! Though…its written on the wall that two pumps is enough…I usually do 3 (it bursts open, I never learn). They always have Nutella, cream, and some type of marmalade. I suggest trying each one, though my favorite, and my true daily addiction is the Nutella filled coccoli. Don’t leave Florence without trying these, and then, eating them every day!
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August 2018
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