Focaccia With Fennel, Prosciutto And Fresh Mozzarella
serves 4-6 as a side dish or snack
Here our basic focaccia dough is adorned with fennel, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella. Substitute ham and any other cheese for the prosciutto and fresh mozzarella if you'd like.
1 basic focaccia recipe
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bulb fennel, sliced
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon coarse cornmeal
1 cup fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1-inch cubes
3 slices prosciutto, sliced
prep: 20 minutes
total: 3 hours 20 minutes
sauté pan
baking sheet
cooling rack
1. Prepare the dough as directed in the recipe for basic focaccia.
2. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil until shimmering. Sauté the fennel until tender, 10 minutes. Add the water to the fennel and cook until the liquid has evaporated, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 425F. Oil the baking sheet with the remaining tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with the tablespoon of coarse corn meal. Roll out the focaccia dough to the approximate size of baking sheet and transfer it to the sheet. Stretch the corners out to fit the baking sheet, but do not tear the dough.
4. Tuck the sautéed fennel slices, the cubed cheese and the sliced prosciutto into the top of the dough. With your fingers, poke around the toppings to create large dimples in the dough. Let the topped dough rise for 10 minutes before baking.
6. Bake the focaccia at 425F; 15 minutes for moist and fluffy bread, 25 minutes for browned and slightly crispy bread.
