This Pittsburgh Spot Serves Cheesy Gnocchi Out of Bread Bowls

The only way to stay warm through a Pittsburgh winter is to consume as many carbs as possible -- and lucky for you, local Italian joint DiAnoia’s Eatery has you covered. Beyond its impressive roster of tasty meat and pasta dishes, the place offers a tomato-cream sauce gnocchi, served in a bowl made of bread. “Italians always eat bread with every course,” executive chef Dave Anoia tells Thrillist. “So I just put them together on one plate.”

To create the indulgent entree, Anoia boils Idaho potatoes and scoops out their insides, then mills them one by one. Next, he adds pizza flour and a melange of Parmesan and pecorino, before rolling the dough out flat and balling each individual gnocchi by hand. “The key to our gnocchi is there's no egg in it,” he explains. “The starch from the potato and the gluten from the flour act as a natural binder, so that when you cook the gnocchi, they’re particularly puffy.”

As for the bread bowl, Anoia and his team prepare fresh pizza dough, wrap it around a stainless steel bowl, and bake it until golden brown. Once it’s fully cooked, they slide the bowl out from underneath, add the freshly boiled gnocchi, and top it with a Sorrento-style sauce (born in the Sorrentino region of the Amalfi Coast): a blend of house-made marinara, mozzarella, and heavy cream. “The two highest-selling items in this restaurant are the bread and the gnocchi,” Di Anoia explains, “I thought if we combined the two into one dish, it would be the best of both worlds for everybody. If you like cheese, you’re going to love it.”

Bread and gnocchi: Go ahead, try to name a more iconic duo. Watch the video above to learn more about this beautifully glutenous dish.

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