Romagna, Emilia-Romagna
The flatbread of Romagna: a thin, unleavened disc of 00 flour, lard (or olive oil in the coastal version), salt, and water cooked on a testo (flat iron griddle) for 2–3 minutes per side until it blisters and chars in spots. The piadina is split while hot and filled immediately with squacquerone (a fresh, spreadable Romagnola cheese with a sour, tangy character), fresh rocket, and optionally prosciutto di Parma or stracchino. Eaten standing at piadinerie across Romagna. The coastal variant uses olive oil (not lard) and is thinner.
Blistered, lard-enriched flatbread folded around tangy squacquerone and peppery rocket — the Romagnola street food that requires a hot testo, good lard, and the cheese made only in this region
{"Lard version (Forlì, Cesena area): 00 flour, lard, water, salt, baking powder; roll to 3mm","Olive oil version (Rimini, coastal): thinner, more pliable, slightly crispier","Testo preheated 5 min; piadina cooked 2 min per side; should blister and char slightly","Fill immediately while hot — the heat from the piadina warms the squacquerone which begins to melt","Fold in half or roll — never lay flat; the fold prevents filling from spilling"}
{"The piadina should be slightly smaller than the testo so it can be turned without folding over the edge","Stracchino (a similar spreadable cheese from Lombardia) is the best substitute for squacquerone","The best piadinerie in Romagna still use lard rendered from locally raised pigs — the flavour difference is noticeable"}
{"Cold testo — the piadina cooks slowly and becomes tough rather than blistering properly","Using cottage cheese or ricotta instead of squacquerone — the specific sour tang of squacquerone is non-negotiable","Letting the piadina cool before filling — it becomes leathery and doesn't fold cleanly"}
La Cucina Romagnola — Paolo Ghedini