Fried Gnocchi Appetizers, plus Prosciutto and Pecorino

These crispy fried gnocchi appetizers with Pecorino and Prosciutto are simple, elegant and full of flavour. They're ready in under 20 minutes and make solid Italian finger food for any occasion.

Quick recipe overview

• Flavour – Salty prosciutto with creamy pecorino cheese and briny olives.
• Suited to – parties and entertaining
• Serve with – your favourite Italian cocktail, such as a Negroni or Limoncello Martini and other good nibbles.

If you're looking for something fun and a bit different to serve at your next party or get-together, then this is it.

The gnocchi are fried until golden and crispy, cooled, then popped on a skewer with salty prosciutto, creamy pecorino and briny olives. They're pretty effortless to make and are always a crowd pleaser.

Serve them with a glass of fizz and other good finger food (see our suggestions below) and enjoy!

Ingredient notes

• Pecorino – we used a Tuscan Pecorino, which is a semi-hard cheese with good flavour. If you can't get Pecorino, you can use another Italian cheese such as Scamorza, Fontina, Caciocavallo or Provolone.
• Prosciutto – try to use a good-quality prosciutto if you can.
• Olives – We prefer to use pitted olives so they are easy to skewer, but use whatever olives you like.

Serving suggestions

Drinks – Serve with a glass of Prosecco or an Italian cocktail such as our Sbagliato Rosso or Pomegranate Spritz.

Other appetizers – These would go beautifully with our Burrata with Crispy 'Nduja & GremolataItalian Tuna Stuffed Cherry PeppersGrissini – Italian Breadsticks or Smoked Salmon Crostini.

Can we prep these in advance?

We would prep the gnocchi no more than a couple of hours before serving, and they are best not placed in the fridge once fried (or they'll lose their crispy texture). The other components (prosciutto, cheese and olives) can all be prepped and refrigerated.

Ingredients

Makes 20 appetizers

• 1- 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 20 potato gnocchi
• 8 - 10 slices Prosciutto
• 20 small slices Pecorino cheese ((or cheese of choice))
• 20 olives
• salt

Equipment

• cocktail sticks/toothpicks

Method

1. To make the fried gnocchi, add the olive oil to a large pan under a medium heat. Fry the gnocchi with a little salt until golden and crispy all over (around 10-15 minutes). Let them cool slightly.

2. Add one gnocchi to a cocktail stick, followed by a piece of prosciutto, cheese and finally an olive. Continue with the rest of the ingredients then arrange on a serving platter.

3. Serve with other nibbles and drinks.