Or Piada, a thin Italian flatbread typical of Romagna. Here Piadina is the queen of street food, stuffed with savory ingredients or Nutella. If you go to Riviera Romagnola, on the Adriatic Sea, you will have a Piada for lunch in one of the kiosks selling them.
Rimini, Riccione, Milano Marittima the destinations for young people who like to party and clubbing but also for families who like all sorts of comforts at a very reasonable budget, kilometers of beach with all sorts of activities and shallow water. I have to admit I was going to Tuscany and Liguria as a kid so I am not very familiar with that part of the coast but... I love the people, so friendly and smiling (unlike Ligurians that are not very welcoming), the food is amazing and there are some very nice places to visit.
When I go, I have two mandatory stops (on top of Sergio Rossi Outlet :-)).
Borgo San Giuliano in Rimini, in the historic district, is a cute little neighborhood with colorful houses painted with beautiful murals made for Festa del Borgo San Giuliano festival, some dedicated to Federico Fellini, born in Rimini.
Santarcangelo di Romagna, a cute medieval village on a little hill behind Rimini. You can have a nice stroll in the tiny streets, stop for a glass of wine or a meal in one of the cute restaurants, and visit the Malatesta Castle.
Going back to our Piadina...
The most typical one is with Crudo Ham, arugula, and Squacquerone Cheese. Hard to pronounce for a non-Italian I guess… skwa-kwe-ROH-nay, one of my favorite things on Earth. A super creamy soft cheese made from cow’s milk. I cannot find it here in Knoxville but my food pusher (Mirko) brought me one from Eataly. A NonnoNanni Squacquerone and I immediately felt at home.
Reason why I had to experiment Piadina. Another simple and yummy food, usually made with flour, lard or olive oil, salt, baking soda, milk, and water. For this version, I use sourdough discard. I tried two different recipes this week. The first one you see is more similar to a “Sfogliata”, thinner, more flaky and greasy, the second one thicker and smaller. Each region has its own version of Piadina. I will try the proper sfogliata soon.
In the meantime, I leave you the recipe below of the first version. You can use mozzarella or a cheese you like that melts pretty well and all sort of veggies and cold cuts. You can freeze them cooked, let them defrost, and reheat in a pan.
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INGREDIENTS (FOR 6 PIADINE):
280g flour
80ml whole milk
40ml water
150g liquid sourdough discard (licoli)
1 tablespoon of lard
1 tablespoon of olive oil
5g salt
5g baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS:
Dissolve the sourdough in water and milk
Add the oil and lard
Add the flour and then salt and baking soda
Create a ball and let it rest under a bowl for a half-hour
Flatten the dough pretty thin (1/4 in), brush with oil, and roll it to create a cylinder Cut it into 6 parts and put them into a closed container in the fridge for 1 hour
Take them out and roll them as thin as you can
Cook them on a non-stick pan or a hot cast iron for 1/2 minutes per side
When you turn it on the second side you can start to put cheese on half of it so that it will start melting, cold cuts at the end