Crispy Mushroom Crackers

Piadina Croccante con Funghi, Porri e Parmigiano
Home-Made Piadina Crackers with Mushroom, Leek and Parmesan Cheese

Unhealthy as it is, we all like to snack on occasion... but for some people like me, who are constantly doing battle with our maintaining our weight, it is not always easy knowing that he have to resist the temptation. So here we go... this was my little attempt at making something tasty and delicious but light and healthy at the same time- and for a first attempt, it really wasn't that bad!

Piadina is a traditional Italian flatbread- a great accompaniment to cheese, olives or salami and basically rather similar to a cracker rather than a bread. The dough is a very simple, unleavened affair made of 2 parts flour to one part water, a little oil and a pinch of salt. In this case I used 1 cupful of flour and a half cup of water, mixed it well and added a drop of oil before kneading it to make it into a smooth, malleable dough. Wrap in Ceran wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

In the meantime we can prepare our leek and mushroom topping.

Chop the mushrooms, leeks and parsley very finely, season with salt and pepper and add a little olive oil. Season with a little paprika, nutmeg and ground coriander. Grate some Parmesan or Grana cheese and turn up that oven to its highest setting... we are almost ready to go!

Take the dough out of the wrapper, knead one last time and sprinkle the dough, your rolling pin and your surface with flour before you begin rolling out the dough. Roll out and turn 90°, continue rolling and turn 90° again... sprinkle with flour and continue this procedure until you have the right thickness of dough- meaning very thin!

To transfer the dough to your tray without it tearing, roll it up onto your rolling pin, carry it over to the tray and un-roll it directly on there. Cover evenly with the mushroom, leek and parsley paste, grind once more with fresh pepper and then sprinkle a nice layer of Parmesan on top.

Bake from between 10-15 minutes depending on your oven, until golden-brown and simply irresistible... as in the picture below!