Piadina open to (almost) any kind of filling Just when you think you have discovered The Next Big Thing, food-wise, it turns out that Starbucks is already selling it. I speak here of piadina, a flatbread from Emilia-Romagna, a region of Italy that cuts a large swath across the northern part of the country. The word (and its plural, piadine) has come to mean a sandwich made with the flatbread. Piadine came to my attention in a stunning new cookbook written by Frank Stitt, a well-known chef from the American South who has taken on Italian cooking in “Frank Stitt’s Bottega Favorita” (Artisan, 2009). In his book, he fills piadine with combinations like chicken and mozzarella, and with a Middle Eastern mix of greens, feta, walnuts and mint. It turns out that piadine are ancient, immensely popular flatbread sandwiches as common in Romagna as burgers are in the United States. Poets have written odes to them. Historians have recorded their past. “Piadina is as much a part of Romagna’s soul as her land,” wrote Lynne Rossetto Kasper in her landmark cookbook, “The Splendid Table” (William Morrow, 1992). A quick Web search revealed that Starbucks, indeed, had put them on the menu last year. So much for “discovery.” Piadine, however, are The Next Big Thing at my house, and while Stitt’s toppings are luscious, I would argue with his decision to use pizza dough. The traditional piadina dough is made without yeast, according to Kasper and other sources. I present here a hybrid: Piadine made with Kasper’s dough recipe and Stitt’s toppings. Piadine call for a certain amount of flexibility and creativity. You may use more or less filling as you see fit. You can make a half recipe of the dough. You can also serve them plain, as bread, to accompany any dish. Or you can stuff them, making what Kasper calls a “stovetop calzone.” She recommends a filling of 1/4 cup each tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella spread over half of each uncooked round of dough. Fold over, crimp the edges to seal, and bake on a griddle about 3 minutes per side over medium-low heat. Feel free, as well, to experiment with your own fillings. The traditional is prosciutto and sauteed greens, but you can try any combo that suits your fancy. Grilled slices of lamb, for example, are wonderful in the Persian Piadine below. Piadine make great wraps for leftovers. Or you could take Stitt’s advice and use pizza dough, rolled no thicker than 1/4 inch. The fillings below are enough for two (10- to 12-inch) rounds of yeast dough, baked in a 500 F oven (in which the pizza stone or pan has been heated for 30 minutes) for 6 to 8 minutes, or until cooked through but not crisp. This will make more generous piadine, as each round will feed two. PIADINA DOUGH 4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 6 tablespoons high-quality lard (see Cook’s note) 1 cup warm water lard or oil for the pan Cook’s note: Kasper says piadine “need lard for tenderness and taste.” Solid vegetable shortening or butter, or a combination of both, results in a different — but thoroughly acceptable — bread. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to blend. Remove the top, and cut the lard (see Cook’s note) into pieces, distributing the pieces over the top of the dough in the bowl. Replace the top, and process about 30 seconds, or until the flour resembles fine meal. Remove the top, and sprinkle the water over the mixture. Replace the top, and pulse just until the dough looks like large crumbs or clumps. Don’t process until it forms a ball. Turn it out on a work surface, and knead three or four times until it forms a ball. Use immediately or let rest at room temperature, covered by a kitchen towel, for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200 F. Divide the dough into eight balls. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball out to form roughly an 8-inch round. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Test the temperature: The skillet is ready when a few drops of water sputter and disappear within 2 to 3 seconds. Rub the pan with a bit of oil. To speed the process, you might want to have two skillets heating at the same time. Cook the piadine one at a time, 30 to 40 seconds on one side; it should be speckled with a deep golden brown. If it takes longer, increase the heat. If the speckles are dark brown, reduce the heat. Use a metal spatula to flip, and cook on the other side 30 seconds, or until it has just a few speckles and looks slightly parched. Stack and seal the piadine in aluminum foil, and keep warm in the oven. Fill with desired filling, and serve. Yield: 8 to 12 piadina Recipe slightly adapted from “The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food” by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (William Morrow, 1992) PERSIAN PIADINE 1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt 2 tablespoons chopped mint 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 heaping cups watercress or arugula 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn 4 fresh dill sprigs, torn 2 teaspoons snipped chives 4 scallions, trimmed and chopped 2 medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped 4 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese 1/3 cup of walnut halves, toasted and chopped 1/4 cup favorite vinaigrette Whisk together the yogurt, mint and olive oil in a small bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, toss together the watercress (or arugula), basil, dill, chives, scallions, cucumbers, radishes and feta (or goat cheese). Add the nuts, and toss with the vinaigrette to coat. To serve: Spoon some yogurt sauce on once side of the bread. Mound the salad on top. Fold the bread over, and serve. Yield: filling for about 8 piadine Recipe slightly adapted from “Frank Stitt’s Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef’s Love Affair with Italian Food” by Frank Stitt (Artisan 2009) CHICKEN-MARINARA PIADINE 2 cooked (preferably grilled) chicken breasts, thinly sliced 2/3 cup cubed mozzarella (1/2-inch cubes) 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced heaping 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce 1/4 cup favorite vinaigrette scant 1/2 cup homemade or jarred marinara sauce Combine the chicken, mozzarella, feta, cucumber and romaine in bowl, and toss with the vinaigrette to coat. Spread each piadina thinly with some tomato sauce. Mound the salad mixture on one side, fold over, and serve. Yield: filling for about 8 piadine Recipe slightly adapted from “Frank Stitt’s Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef’s Love Affair with Italian Food” by Frank Stitt (Artisan 2009) Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.
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