Easy Italian Recipes

This is a soft flatbread from Romagna in the north of Italy. It is usually made with white flour, lard (or olive oil), salt and water. The dough was traditionally cooked on a terracotta dish (called a teggia in the local dialect), although today flat pans
or electric griddles are commonly used. You can use a non-stick, heavy-based frying pan, although the heat on my induction hob is so fierce that I have frequently burnt pans in the process, so I now use the oven to make piadine, which are very popular with my family for a quick lunch. Piadine are usually eaten as soon as they are cooked, although the dough can be prepared in advance. They are often sold at specialist kiosks, or piadinerle. The choice of fillings is endless, but they are frequently served with a wonderfully named soft white, squelchy cheese called squacquerone, and with Swiss chard or spinach. Alternative fillings include stracchino, Taleggio or mozzarella, Parma ham and rocket.

Makes 6 Piadina

500g plain flour or '00' flour
10g salt
150g lard, at room temperature
200ml water
2g bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to its highest setting - somewhere between 280°C and 300°C is ideal. Put two oven trays upside down in the oven if you can (so that you can quickly slide the piadine onto them), or use two baking trays.
Sift the flour and the salt together in a mixing bowl, add the butter and the water to the dough. Mix together with your hands until you have a soft, pliable dough that you will be able to roll out. Be prepared to add a little more flour or water if necessary. Leave to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Turn out the rested dough onto a floured work surface and divide it into six balls. Roll them out into circles no more than 5mm thick. Put them onto another upturned, floured baking tray and then slide into the hot oven for 2-4 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly browned. If you are using a frying pan, allow 2-3 minutes on each side.
When done, spread your chosen filling over half the surface and fold the other half over the top. If they pull up, slide a knife around the edge and fill without folding. Eat straight away.

Making Piadina: gallery