Chef Graziella
Piadina with Sausage and Stracchino
The working person's lunch from Romagna, where thin, lard-enriched flatbread folds around crumbled sausage and soft, melting cheese. This is not a wrap. This is piadina.
Culinary Explorer
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Piadina with Prosciutto, Squacquerone, and Arugula
Created by
The street food of Romagna, where a thin flatbread made with lard becomes the vessel for prosciutto, tangy fresh cheese, and bitter greens. Three fillings. Nothing more.
Sandwiches & Wraps
Italian, Romagnol
Quick Meal
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
25 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield6 piadine
Piadina is not a wrap. It is not a tortilla. It is not flatbread in any generic sense. It is the bread of Romagna, and only Romagna, a thin disc made with flour, lard, salt, and water, cooked on a hot griddle until it blisters and chars in spots. To call it anything else is to misunderstand what you are eating.
The filling I give you here is the classic, the one you find at every piadineria from Rimini to Cesena. Squacquerone is the cheese, soft and spreadable and slightly sour, made only in this region. The prosciutto is sliced thin and laid on cold. The arugula provides the bite. That is all. Americans want to add things. Resist this impulse.
My grandmother made piadina on a testo, a thick terracotta disc that held heat like nothing else. You may use a cast iron griddle or a heavy skillet. What matters is that the surface is dry and very hot. The piadina should cook quickly, developing those characteristic brown spots while staying pliable enough to fold.
Piadina originated as peasant food in Romagna, where farm families made it daily because they lacked ovens for proper bread. The earliest written recipe dates to 1371, though the tradition is certainly older. In 2014, Piadina Romagnola received IGP protection, officially recognizing that authentic piadina can only come from this narrow strip of coast and hills along the Adriatic.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
tipo 00 flour
Quantity
500g, plus more for rolling
lard (strutto)
Quantity
100g
at room temperature
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
baking soda
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
warm water
Quantity
200ml
squacquerone cheese
Quantity
250g
prosciutto di Parma
Quantity
150g
sliced thin
wild arugula
Quantity
100g
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| tipo 00 flour | 500g, plus more for rolling |
| lard (strutto)at room temperature | 100g |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| baking soda | 1/2 teaspoon |
| warm water | 200ml |
| squacquerone cheese | 250g |
| prosciutto di Parmasliced thin | 150g |
| wild arugula | 100g |
Equipment Needed
- •Large cast iron skillet or griddle (30cm or larger)
- •Rolling pin
- •Clean kitchen towel for keeping piadine warm
Instructions
- 1
Make the dough
Mound the flour on your work surface and create a well in the center. Add the lard, salt, and baking soda to the well. Pour in most of the warm water, reserving a few tablespoons. Using a fork, begin incorporating the flour from the inner walls of the well into the liquid. When the mixture becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to bring it together into a rough dough. Add the remaining water only if the dough feels dry.
Lard is not optional. It is what makes piadina taste like piadina. Olive oil or butter will produce something else entirely. If you cannot find lard, render your own from pork fatback. - 2
Knead until smooth
Knead the dough firmly for 8 to 10 minutes. It should become smooth, pliable, and slightly tacky but not sticky. The lard will fully incorporate as you work, creating a dough that feels almost silky. If it sticks to your hands, dust with flour. If it cracks when folded, add a few drops of water.
- 3
Rest the dough
Shape the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes rolling easier. Do not refrigerate. Cold dough will not roll thin enough.
- 4
Divide and roll
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, about 130 grams each. Keep the pieces you are not working with covered. Roll each piece into a thin disc about 25 centimeters across and 2 to 3 millimeters thick. The dough should be thin enough that you can almost see your hand through it, but sturdy enough to handle. Dust your surface and rolling pin with flour as needed.
Thickness matters. Too thick and the piadina will be bready and heavy. Too thin and it will crack when folded. Aim for the thickness of a playing card, perhaps slightly thicker. - 5
Heat your griddle
Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat until very hot. Test by flicking a drop of water onto the surface. It should evaporate immediately. Do not grease the pan. The lard in the dough provides all the fat you need.
- 6
Cook the piadina
Lay one disc of dough on the hot surface. Within 30 seconds, bubbles will form and the bottom will develop brown spots. When the underside is speckled with char marks and the bubbles have set, flip it. Cook the second side for another minute or so. The piadina should be pliable, not crisp. It will firm slightly as it cools.
Prick any large bubbles with a fork as they form. Some bubbles are good, proving the dough is alive. But a bubble the size of your fist will leave one section too thin. - 7
Keep warm while cooking
Stack the cooked piadine on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel. They will stay warm and pliable while you cook the remaining discs. Work efficiently. A piadina that sits too long becomes stiff.
- 8
Fill and fold
Work quickly while the piadina is still warm. Spread a generous layer of squacquerone across the entire surface. Lay slices of prosciutto over half the disc. Do not heat the prosciutto. Italians do not cook quality cured meat. Scatter a handful of arugula over the prosciutto. Fold the piadina in half, pressing gently to seal. Serve immediately.
The cheese must touch the warm bread to soften slightly. This is why you spread it first, edge to edge. The prosciutto and arugula go on one half only, so the fold brings cheese against meat.
Chef Tips
- •Squacquerone has a short shelf life, often only two weeks from production. Seek it at Italian specialty shops or well-stocked cheese counters. If truly unavailable, stracchino is the closest substitute, though less tangy. Cream cheese is not acceptable.
- •The dough can be made several hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature. Do not refrigerate it overnight. Cold dough loses its pliability.
- •In Romagna, piadinerie cook these to order on flat griddles called testi. The smell of charring dough and lard draws you from the street. Recreate this by cooking just before serving, never in advance.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can rest at room temperature for up to 4 hours after kneading. Cover it well.
- •Piadine are best eaten within minutes of cooking. They do not store well. Make the dough ahead if you wish, but cook and fill them just before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 210g)
Calories
620 calories
Total Fat
30 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
15 g
Cholesterol
65 mg
Sodium
1110 mg
Total Carbohydrates
65 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
19 g
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