Born from the hands of a “rezdòura”, typical rural housewife and true queen of the domestic hearth of Emilia, Erbazzone is a typical expression
of gastronomical culture of the province of Reggio Emilia. Originally its name was “scarpasòun”, an expression from local dialect referring to an
old peasant’s recipe based on the white beet’s leave called “scarpa” (shoe). It later became “erbazzone” (“herbs” pie) indicating clearly the base ingredients of the filling.
Italy is the home of savoury pies and herbs pies. Erbazzone is different from the classics in that it lacks ricotta cheese and because of the exclusive use of typical local ingredients: aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and derivatives from the preparation of pork cured meats.
The unleavened dough that surrounds the filling demonstrates with all probability a contamination from jewish traditions. The jewish community used to be quite large and originated many of today’s culinary local specialties. The first to sell it was the bakery of the ghetto, in the center of Reggio Emilia. From there it spread to the entire city and later to the entire province.
