Ever need a comfort food fix? I do.
When I make filled focaccia with fresh pesto, burrata and mortadella it is the ultimate comfort satisfaction, nothing competes when it emerges from the hot oven and the burrata has melted perfectly, the mortadella is warm, and the bite of fresh pesto creates the ultimate flavor combination and brings me to one of my fondest memories.
I experienced filled focaccia when I visited a dear friend in Milan. It was a damp, chilly autumn afternoon and we had just returned from seeing DaVinci’s Last Supper.
We arrived in her sweet apartment (not much bigger than my living room back in the US) and I was immediately engulfed with the delicious smell of warm bread, fresh basil, and gooey cheese. As the aroma saturated the room, it was the most amazing sensation, so very unexpected yet incredibly welcomed.
She quickly answered my thoughts and explained she had decided to make us her mom’s filled focaccia recipe. With a slight smile and an air of pride, she announced it was created with her fresh garden pesto, her nonno’s cured mortadella, and her mom’s homemade burrata. My mouth was watering and my senses were dancing…..
As she cut the focaccia, the ingredients, oozed out of the center and teased us with the beautiful colors and enticing flavors. I set the table and poured the house wine from her uncle’s vineyard. She tossed together a simple salad which came from her window box garden. We sat, giggling and chatting as the hours passed during the gloomy afternoon.
As I reminisce, I never knew such a simple dish could entice me at such a deep level but now I realize each recipe, each dish created with such love and intent is forever it’s own work of art.
- FOCACCIA DOUGH:
- 5 Cups All-purpose Unbleached Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Instant Active Dry Yeast
- 2 – 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Plus 2 Additional Tablespoons To Oil Bowl)
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2+ Cups Warm Water
- STUFFING:
- 12 Thin Slices Mortadella
- 2 Burrata Balls, torn in pieces
- Pesto:
- 1 Cup Basil
- 1 Garlic Cloves,
- Pine Nuts
- Parmigiano Cheese
- Salt & Pepper
- ⅓ Cup Olive Oil
- TO FINISH:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Coarse Sea Salt
- Measure and assemble your flour, oil, salt, yeast, and water.
- Add everything but the water into a large bowl and stir.
- Add half the water and stir.
- Continue to add water until the dough begins to come together into a shaggy ball.
- Dump the dough mixture onto a lightly floured surface and begin to knead with the heels of your hand.
- Knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and pliant.
- Add a little oil (2 tablespoons) to the bottom of a large bowl and place your ball of dough inside.
- Roll the ball of dough around in the oil ensuring the sides of the bowl and ball of dough are both lightly oiled.
- Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise. (I cover mine with a kitchen towel on top of the plastic wrap and sit it on a large sunny windowsill.)
- Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about an hour or an hour and a half depending on ambient temperature.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- While the dough is rising, place all of the pesto ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Divide the dough into two equal halves.
- Oil a 13 x 9 Inch baking sheet.
- Place one half of the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it with a rolling pin until it fits the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Place the dough in the pan, stretching it with your fingers to fit.
- Spread the tomato pesto over the dough.
- Lay the ham slices, slightly overlapping on top of the pesto.
- Lay the provolone cheese slices on top of the ham, overlapping to fit.
- Roll out the remaining dough to fit the pan, then stretch it out with your fingers as you lay it on top of the stuffing mixture.
- Use your fingers to pinch the two dough halves together to seal.
- Use your fingers to press dimples into the top of the dough.
- Drizzle a little of the oil over the top of the dough.
- Sprinkle the top with some salt and then bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes.
- Cool 10 minutes, then cut into 4-inch squares and serve.
