Crescioni of Romagna – or cassoni – is a kind of stuffed flatbread folded into a half-moon shape.
Traditionally, they are filled with herbs and, in the Apennine areas, also with pumpkin and potatoes. The shape also varies. In fact, in the hills above Forlì, they are rectangular and are called tortelli alla lastra.
The variety of fillings is a recent development. Tomato and mozzarella, potato and sausage, and all the other fillings used today did not exist until the 1960s and 1970s.
Crescioni owe their name to the herb crescione, which was traditionally used to fill them. Today, this herb is not easily found and can be replaced with Swiss chard or spinach.
For me, crescioni alle erbe still has a special flavor.
Auntie Iole
Iolanda, who everyone called Iole, was my maternal grandmother’s younger sister.
While my grandmother was petite, Iole was tall and robust. Her smile lit up a face that glowed with kindness, and fortunately, she smiled often.
If my grandma was a superb cook, her sister was almost always her assistant. But Iolanda also had her own special dishes.
I remember Aunt Iole’s fragrant sfoglia, which my grandmother soon stopped making because of the illness that took her away prematurely, and fried polenta with squacquerone cheese from Romagna. Not to mention crescioni alle erbe.
Crescioni alle erbe (green flatbread)
IIn summer, my aunt would roll out the piadina and cook the crescioni early in the morning.
In winter, she would do the same thing, but she would start in the late afternoon so that they would be ready, and still warm, for dinner.
My aunt would prepare and cook everything in the basement of our house.
She rolled out the dough on the large wooden table, the centerpiece of many winter dinners and impromptu summer meals. Then she cooked the crescioni on the old gas stove right next to the fireplace.
What a delicious memory of grilled meat cooking on the grill over the fire and piadina or crescioni on the stove next to it.
While the piadina dough was resting, my aunt took care of the blanched and squeezed herbs. I remember that she finished drying the herbs in a large pan with olive oil and salt. Sometimes, she also added pancetta and a small amount of finely chopped onion.
After a few minutes, she would remove the pan from the heat and let the herbs cool before adding ricotta and a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. After stirring vigorously, she would return to the dough.
I still remember watching her work after climbing onto a chair next to the table. As I grew up, I no longer needed the chair, but her skill never ceased to amaze me.
The crescione ritual
The dough rested under a clean cloth, already divided into small balls of equal weight.
She did it by eye, but today’s cooks would be better off using a scale.
She rolled out each piadina into a perfect oval shape, which I can hardly ever achieve. Then she placed a few spoonfuls of filling on half of the piadina, spread it with a fork, and finally closed the crescione by folding the dough over itself. She first ran her finger along the edges, which she then sealed with the prongs of a fork.
After filling all the crescioni, she cooked two at a time on a hot griddle.
A few minutes on each side, remembering to turn them so that the narrow, long side of the fold was also cooked.
As I said at the beginning, crescioni are crescent-shaped but can also be rectangular. If you don’t have much experience, I recommend this shape because it’s easier to make.
Before leaving you with the recipe, I’ll let you in on a secret.
There was a ritual. As soon as the crescioni were ready, we would eat one cut in half, while still hot. “We need to taste,” my aunt would say. And she laughed.
Buona cucina, Monica
Cook with me
On the blog, you will find the history of piadina romagnola (which has the same dough as crescioni). And, of course, the recipe (HERE) for the leavened piadina called Bertinoro from the name of a little hamlet close to Forlì, which is distinct from that of Rimini, wide and thin (THAT is the Rimini-style recipe).
The arrival of the chest freezer represented an almost epochal turning point for those born in the countryside. HERE, you will find the story of its arrival at home.
The memory of winter dinners in the home’s basement made me think of the cookies of San Martino and the feast of the “becchi” (cuckolds). HERE, you will find the recipe and story.
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Stuffed flatbreads (crescioni of Romagna)
Equipment
- rolling pin and non-stick baking tray
Ingredients
Crescioni's dough
- 500 g of all-purpose flour, or type 0 or type 1
- 50 g of lard or 40 g olive oil or 40 g olive oil
- 10 g of fine salt
- 2 g of baking soda or 1 g baking powder for pizza
- 250 ml lukewarm water or milk if you prefer a softer, more fragrant dough
Filling
- 500 g of spinach or Swiss chard, cooked and squeezed dry
- 200 g of cow's milk ricotta cheese, drained
- 20 g of grated Parmigiano
- 20 g of olive oil and salt to taste
Instructions
Crescioni's dough
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast, form a crater in the center, and add the lard or olive oil. Sprinkle salt around the edges. You can make the dough on a cutting board or using a stand mixer.
- Start pouring the water into the crater a little at a time, mixing with a fork to incorporate the flour.
- When you have added all the water, transfer the mixture to a chopping board and knead by hand for 3 minutes or until well blended and no longer sticky.
- Using a pasta cutter or knife, cut the dough into balls of equal weight (for small crescioni to be used as appetizers, snacks, or aperitifs, about 70 g; for large crescioni to be served as a meal, about 150 g each).
- Let rest for 30 minutes, covered with a clean cloth. This is not a true rising but a resting period. In the meantime, make the filling.
Filling
- Chop the cooked and drained herbs with a knife.
- Pour the oil into a pan, add the herbs, and season with a bit of salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring over low heat.
- Turn off the heat, add the ricotta and Parmesan cheese, and stir until well combined. Set aside.
Crescioni
- On a cutting board, roll out one ball at a time into an oval or round shape (or however you like) about 3 mm thick.
- Prick the surface of the piadina with the tines of a fork. Spread a little filling on half of the disc, fold the crescione over itself to form a half-moon shape, and seal the edges with a fork.
- Cook on a hot, non-stick griddle for 3 minutes on each side, turning them so that the narrow, long side of the fold is also cooked (two minutes is sufficient). The crescione is ready when it has taken on its typical golden-brown color.
Tips
- Reheat in the oven or on a griddle.
- Store in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for up to a month.
- You can use any filling you like, but be cautious with cheeses such as mozzarella (which can release liquid) or liquid ingredients like tomato sauce, as this could compromise the cooking of the crescioni.
