{"id":33486,"date":"2022-05-07T17:56:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-07T15:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/?p=33486"},"modified":"2025-06-03T18:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T16:51:53","slug":"green-flatbread-of-romagna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/en\/green-flatbread-of-romagna\/","title":{"rendered":"Stuffed flatbread of Romagna (crescioni romagnoli). Aunt Iolanda’s recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crescioni of Romagna – or cassoni – is a kind of stuffed flatbread folded into a half-moon shape.
\nTraditionally, 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 Forl\u00ec, they are rectangular and are called tortelli alla lastra.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.
\nFor me, crescioni alle erbe still has a special flavor.<\/p>\n

Auntie Iole<\/h4>\n

Iolanda, who everyone called Iole, was my maternal grandmother’s younger sister.<\/p>\n

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.
\nIf my grandma was a superb cook, her sister was almost always her assistant. But Iolanda also had her own special dishes.
\nI 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Flat<\/p>\n

Crescioni alle erbe (green flatbread)<\/strong><\/h5>\n

IIn summer, my aunt would roll out the piadina and cook the crescioni early in the morning.
\nIn 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.<\/p>\n

My aunt would prepare and cook everything in the basement of our house.
\nShe 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.<\/p>\n

What a delicious memory of grilled meat cooking on the grill over the fire and piadina or crescioni on the stove next to it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.
\nI 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Piadina:<\/p>\n

The crescione ritual<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The dough rested under a clean cloth, already divided into small balls of equal weight.<\/span><\/p>\n

She did it by eye, but today’s cooks would be better off using a scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

After filling all the crescioni, she cooked two at a time on a hot griddle.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few minutes on each side, remembering to turn them so that the narrow, long side of the fold was also cooked.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before leaving you with the recipe, I’ll let you in on a secret.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Buona cucina, Monica<\/p>\n

Cook with me<\/strong><\/h5>\n

On the blog, you will find the history of piadina romagnola<\/em> (which has the same dough as crescioni<\/em>). And, of course, the recipe (HERE<\/a><\/strong>) for the leavened piadina<\/em> called Bertinoro from the name of a little hamlet close to Forl\u00ec, which is distinct from that of Rimini, wide and thin (THAT<\/a><\/strong> is the Rimini-style recipe).<\/p>\n

The arrival of the chest freezer represented an almost epochal turning point for those born in the countryside. HERE,<\/a><\/strong> you will find the story of its arrival at home.<\/p>\n

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,<\/a><\/strong> you will find the recipe and story.<\/p>\n

Keep in Touch<\/b><\/h5>\n