CRESCIONE ALLE ERBETTE (PIE WITH HERBS)

Original name: Crescione alle erbette

Origin: Italy

Ingredients

Ingredients for the dough (it makes for 12 crescione):
1 kg white flour 0 for piadina
150 ml corn oil
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of instant dry yeast (you can also use baking soda)
400 ml warm water

Ingredients for the filling:
750 gr spinach, washed
750 gr baby chards, washed
2 cloves of garlic, grated finely or smashed
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of black pepper
100 ml olive oil

Preparation

Dough: make a small hill of flour mixed with salt and dry yeast, open a hole in the middle, add corn oil and start adding warm water slowly. Start kneading the dough and add more water if needed until it becomes a soft, elastic dough, like an earlobe. For at least 30 minutes leave it to rest in a bowl covered with a humid towel.

In the meanwhile, prepare the filling: Put the spinach and chards in a big pot with a glass of water. Cook them covered at medium heat. After about 5-7 minutes, remove them from heat and drain very well squeezing them with your hands. Cut the squeezed spinach and chards in small pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic and stir it for 2-3 minutes. Then add the prepared spinach-chard mixture together with salt and pepper to the pan and stir for another 5 minutes.

Your crescione filling is ready, you can leave it aside to cool down.

Crescione: divide the dough into 12 balls. For each ball, use the rolling pin (mattarello) for extending the dough and making it thin to an elliptical shape. Put the filling to the half of the surface and fold the other half on the top so that it becomes almost a half circle. Use a fork to close the borders well. To cook it, use a pre-heated heavy iron pan (or “piastra” for piadina) with medium heat. Do the same thing for all the balls! Good luck with the hard work!
Before serving cut each crescione in 6-8 pieces.