Predictably, Taco Lovers will insist the Piadina is nothing of the sort. But the resemblance is extraordinary… Until you come to discuss authentic fillings. That’s where the Piadina and Taco part ways, each taking a different traditional route…
The Classic Piadina Romagna…
Try Googling ‘Italian Taco’… You’ll almost break the system! That’s because there are two very different culinary traditions that currently use the same phrase to describe themselves.
A coincidence?
I’ve often insisted I don’t believe in coincidences. And I stand by that assertion. But the coexistence of the Mexican Taco and the Italian Piadina in the same world seems more than a little unlilkely- unless there’s a Hidden connection of some sort.
Most faithful readers will already be intimately familiar with the classic Mexican street food Taco. The short description of a proper Taco is: a flatbread – a classic Mexican corn tortilla in this case – stuffed with a succession of tradition-dictated fillings that can include grilled meat, beans, Mexican Rice, and fresh veggies, and folded over for east hand-eating. It’s customarily topped with shredded lettuce these days.
Now… Let’s dissect the traditional, authentic Piadina… It’s decribed as a thin wheat flour flatbread native to the Romagna region in Northern Italy, where they’ve been making it since the 1300s. Filling can be literally anything you want – from sweet to savoury to spicy-hot. They can include meats, cheeses, fresh veggies – all sliced thin for stable stacking.
Piadina specifics…
The flour tortillas are traditionally filled and served fresh, right off the heated flat terracotta ‘stone’ on which they’re baked. This ‘appliance’ is called a teggia or testo, or sometimes a Montetiffi after one town that’s particularly famous for making them. Like Mexican corn tortillas, Piadini are usually somewhere between 12 and 15 cm in diameter.
Meats may include Italian sausages – fresh or dry but, either way, fully cooked or cured as required to be considered ready to eat. Other cured meats such as hams are also classic Piadina ‘stars’. Any cheese that can be sliced without crumbling, slumping into a creamy heap or otherwise deforming is fair game. Grated and shredded cheeses are being used increasingly these days, too, as a matter of cook’s and-or-diner’s preference. Tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs – basil predominating – are a must.
Finally… A classic Piadina is never stuffed to overflowing – the way many classic Taco variations are. The empahasis is more on choosing a few complementary ingredients that represent the part of Italy you are celebrating! And above all, – no runny, gooey sauces. At most, a slight drizzle of a good olive oil on top of everything, just before folding the whole sandwich over.
My take
I suppose it was inevitable that the Taco and Piadina – and all the other folded flatbread-sandwich traditions in the world – would pop up at about the same time in the development of the cuisines in which each is now considered a classic. Flatbreads are just naturally made for folding. And they inevitably star in the street food traditions most of them call ‘home’.
Crucially… I’ve never met a food lover of any stripe who said they didn’t love flatbreads, in one presentation or another. Their versatility, ubiquity and universal appeal combine in a winning formula that few other foods can duplicate.
I strongly recommend that you make room in our culinary lexicon for the classic, authentic Piadina concept. And never refer to one as an ‘Italian Taco’ again!
~ Maggie J.