Piadina Romagnola con Squacquerone

I grew up eating piadina in Cesenatico, my fishing village on the Adriatic. The women at the market stands would roll the dough impossibly thin, slap it onto a scorching testo, and fold it around whatever filling you wanted. We ate them standing up, the warm bread burning our fingertips, the cheese dripping down our wrists. This was not restaurant food. This was what you ate when you were hungry and had ten minutes.

The dough contains lard. I know this troubles some people. Use it anyway. The strutto gives piadina its characteristic flavor and tender crumb. Olive oil makes a different bread entirely, and not one any Romagnola would recognize. If you cannot eat lard, make something else. Do not make a compromised piadina and call it authentic.

Squacquerone is essential. The name means something like 'the cheese that runs away,' and that tells you everything about its texture. It spreads like very thick cream, mild and fresh, slightly tangy. When it meets warm bread, it softens further, melting into the arugula. Stracchino is an acceptable substitute if you cannot find squacquerone. Cream cheese is not.