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1
Remove all salumi from refrigeration at least 30 minutes before service. The fat in Culatello and Prosciutto must be fully supple before slicing — press gently with a fingertip; it should yield without resistance and leave no cold firmness behind.
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2
Prepare the gnocco fritto dough. Dissolve the fresh yeast in the warm water. Combine flour, salt and lard, then work in the yeasted water until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Cover and allow to prove at room temperature until doubled in volume. The dough is ready when a finger impression springs back slowly rather than snapping back immediately.
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3
Roll the proved dough to approximately 3 mm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into diamond shapes of roughly 6–7 cm across. Heat lard in a deep, heavy pan to frying temperature. This is the step where the dish lives or dies: lower the diamonds in batches, never crowding the pan — each piece must puff immediately on contact with the fat, ballooning within seconds to form a hollow interior pocket. If it does not puff, the fat is insufficiently hot or the dough is under-proved. Fry until golden on both sides. Lift and drain on a rack.
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4
Slice the salumi to order immediately before service — never in advance. Begin with the delicate Prosciutto and Salame Felino, progressing to Coppa, then Mortadella (3–4 mm), and finally Culatello, keeping the blade clean between products. Pre-sliced product loses moisture and flavour within minutes; correctly sliced product glistens at the cut face and holds its form without tearing.
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5
Arrange the board moving from lightest to most intense: Prosciutto di Parma, Salame Felino, Coppa di Parma, Mortadella, and Culatello di Zibello as the centrepiece. Place the wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano broken — not sliced — to one side. Serve the gnocco fritto immediately alongside, still warm, so that the fat pocket within each puffed diamond remains open to receive the prosciutto.