La Tua Piadina

After school each day my usual routine was to walk home and make myself some lunch. I tried to vary my route every day, but many days I seemed to end up on a small street where there was always a large group mingling outside a small shop. Some would be eating, others standing around, obviously waiting for their order. What was this place? What was I missing and what’s a piadina?

Eventually I saw what everyone was eating-some sort of sandwich wrapped in paper that you could easily eat while walking around. I could see what looked like prosciutto and greens poking out of some sort of flatbread that was folded over. My kind of place! I just had to work up my nerve to elbow my way through the crowd to get up ot the counter and order! When there’s good food involved, I seem to be able to muster up the courage to try out my Italian.

My first piadina was a simple one-prosciutto and arugula. The bread was warm and a little crispy and I loved it. La Tua Piadina became one of my favorite places and since I’ve returned home I’ve been dreaming about having one. After a little searching I found a recipe and I’m hoping to recreate an Arezzo memory.

I decided on using the recipe I found on an Italian cooking blog. It’s really very simple and I was really pleased with my first attempt!

250 grams flour (I used 00 flour-about 2 cups)
120 grams warm water (1/2 cup)
40 grams lard (1.4 oz. or you could use 2 tablespoons olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix flour with salt and cut in lard (like making a pie dough). Slowly add water until dough comes together-you may need a little more water depending on humidity. Form a ball and knead until smooth. Cover dough and let rest for about a half hour. Divide dough in to four portions and roll each out into a circle on lightly floured board. Heat a griddle (I used a cast iron skillet) on medium high and cook dough-piercing any bubbles that appear with a fork. Flip over and cook the other side. Remove from griddle and immediately fill. I used emmenthaler cheese, ham and arugula. Fold over and enjoy! I really wanted to use prosciutto, but didn’t have anywhere nearby to buy some. Next time I’ll be better prepared.