Everywhere you go in Romagna, you’re served this flatbread. I was taught to make it by a local lady at Casa Artusi in Forlimpopoli, a cooking school and foundation dedicated to the work of Italy’s most famous gastronome Pellegrino Artusi. It’s sold from small stands all over Romagna; and in Rimini, Forlì Cesena, Ravenna and part of Bologna it has IGP accreditation (PGI in English, protected geographical indication). Piadina is traditionally baked on a shallow terracotta griddle called a teggia (or teglie) and its origins are ancient, at least back to Etruscan times. Despite its simplicity, every town (indeed every family) makes piadina a little differently, for example in Rimini it’s thinner and in Cesena it’s thicker. It’s served quartered with salumi and cheese (typically squacquerone and prosciutto) or as a wrap, often with a little rocket and tomato. Stuffed with fillings like spinach or watercress and cheese and baked, like a calzone, it becomes crescione. Sweet piadinas are filled with jam, honey or Nutella. I love it with stracciatella, fig and balsamic vinegar.
Makes 2
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