- \n
- Lard or olive oil? Lard makes the piadina more fragrant without making it heavy, since the amount used is small. That said, olive oil is also fine, which I use myself when I don’t have lard.<\/li>\n
- Granulated sugar or cane? My grandmother used to use caster sugar. Over time, I have replaced it with cane sugar.<\/li>\n
- Why did you write that eggs are optional? Eggs add color and flakiness to the dough. However, you can omit the egg and add a small amount of milk (or extra water).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Sweet piadina, merenda<\/em> or dessert<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
In my childhood home, sweet piadina was a dessert, but those were different times. Today, you can also eat it for breakfast or as a snack, accompanied by jam or fresh fruit.<\/p>\n
If you want to serve it as a dessert at the end of a meal, use a cream of your choice: chocolate, mascarpone, or ricotta. Even chestnut jam.
\nMy grandmother always made ricotta cream, which everyone loved, but it was also quick to make.<\/p>\nAll you need is ricotta and a little powdered sugar, which you mix together until you have a soft cream. No cooking required; refrigerate if you prepare it in advance. If you like, you can also add the aroma of grated lemon zest.<\/p>\n
A dish from the cucina povera of Romagna?<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
The Romagna poet Giovanni Pascoli is credited with coining the term by Italianizing some names commonly used in the Romagna dialect (for example, pi\u00ea or p\u00ecda).<\/p>\n
He also celebrated, like few others, the goodness of what he called the bread of the Romagna people.<\/p>\n
Although, to be fair, the piadina prepared for him by his beloved sister was not the poor-quality food that most Romagna people knew and ate at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, piadina was not widespread throughout Romagna like it is today.<\/p>\n
Today, it is a PGI product that characterizes the entire Romagna region, even though the versions from Ravenna and Forl\u00ec differ from that from Rimini (you can find both recipes on the blog). Piadina calls for rich, generous fillings and satisfies hunger and lifts spirits.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
But the history of piadina tells above all the story of a bread of poor cuisine, sometimes very poor, as I have already recounted <\/span>here on the blog<\/span><\/a><\/strong> and in my newsletter <\/span>Food Notes from Bologna<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a letter filled with history, memories, and recipes.<\/span><\/p>\n
However, there was also a richer and often sweeter version. The version intended for the tables of the wealthy. Then the bourgeoisie, to which Pascoli also belonged, was prepared with lard, milk, eggs, honey, or sugar.
\nWhat was once a dessert for the few is now so simple that it is still for the few. Above all, for the few who remember it.<\/p>\nI leave you with two recipes: one for sweet piadina and one for ricotta cream (the second is below the template for the first).<\/p>\n
Buona cucina, Monica<\/p>\n
Piadina of Romagna<\/h5>\n
![\"Ricotta](\"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_5502.jpeg\")
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