Piadina romagnola

The flatbread of Romagna

There is no symbol of Romagna more loved than the piadina, a thin, round flatbread that the poet Giovanni Pascoli, born in Romagna, called "the bread, indeed the national food of the Romagnoli". Born as the poor bread of peasants and fishermen, cooked quickly at home without leavening, it is made with simple ingredients: flour, lard or olive oil, salt and water, sometimes with a little baking soda or milk. The dough is rolled out into discs and cooked on the "testo", a griddle once made of terracotta and now of cast iron, until it is covered with golden and brown spots. Since 2014 the Piadina Romagnola has been protected by the IGP designation.

Every area has its own version: in Rimini and in the south of Romagna it is thinner, larger and soft, while in Forlì, Ravenna and Cesena it is thicker and crumblier. It is eaten hot, folded in half and filled: the classic filling is squacquerone, a soft fresh cheese of Romagna, with rocket, or with prosciutto crudo, but also with salami, grilled sausages, sautéed vegetables, or sweet, with jam or chocolate spread. The cassone, or crescione, is a variant folded and sealed like a large raviolo, filled with tomato and mozzarella, herbs or potatoes. The piadina is sold everywhere in Romagna in the "chioschi", the small colourful kiosks along the roads and the seafront, where the "piadinare" prepare it before your eyes.

Tip: try it at a roadside kiosk, freshly made; the classic combination is squacquerone, rocket and a glass of Sangiovese.

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