Focaccia di Recco col formaggio
Photo: Fred Benenson · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

The Recco consortium traces a cheese focaccia back to the time of the Third Crusade, and local tradition says villagers fleeing Saracen raids first baked dough and cheese together. Trattorie in Recco served it for All Souls' Day from the late 1800s, the Consorzio Recco Gastronomica formed in 1985, and the European Union registered Focaccia di Recco col formaggio as an IGP in 2015, limited to Recco, Sori, Avegno and Camogli.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Milk

Make it at home

Yield Two round trays, serves 4 to 6Hands-on 40 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 500g 00 or strong white flour
  • 50g Italian extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the trays and top
  • About 250ml water
  • A pinch of fine salt
  • 600g to 1kg fresh crescenza or stracchino
  • Coarse salt

Method

  1. Mix the flour, oil, water and fine salt to a smooth, elastic dough with no yeast, cover and rest for an hour.
  2. Divide the dough into four. Roll one piece out, then stretch it over the backs of your fists until it is thin enough to see through, and lay it in an oiled round tray.
  3. Dot walnut-sized pieces of crescenza over the base, lay a second sheet on top, seal and trim the edges, and tear small holes in the top sheet about every few centimetres.
  4. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with coarse salt and bake in the hottest oven you have, 280C or more, for about 7 to 10 minutes, until blistered and golden. Repeat with the rest.

Tip from the editors. The holes in the top sheet let the steam out and the cheese bubble through; without them the dough puffs and the focaccia turns soggy.

Where to eat focaccia di recco col formaggio

Focaccia di Recco col formaggio in Genoa

Strakkino ★ 4.0

€ Street foodDe Ferrari Brignole

Strakkino on Via alla Porta degli Archi in Genoa serves cheese focaccia to eat in, take away or have delivered, with continuous hours until 22:30.

TryCheese focaccia

TipStrakkino says it never closes and trades 12:00 to 22:30; a founding member sits on the board of the Recco cheese focaccia consortium.

Directions

Le Cicale in Trattoria ★ 4.1

€ TrattoriaFoce

Le Cicale in Trattoria on Via Ruspoli, Genoa, lists trofie al pesto at €12, ravioli al tocco at €13 and desserts at €6 on its menu page, open six days.

OrderTrofie al pesto (€12) or ravioli al tocco (€13), then a €6 creme caramel from the dessert list.

TipSides such as fennel gratin and roast potatoes are €6 each; the kitchen serves until 23:00 from Monday to Saturday.

Directions

Pizzeria Da Raffa ★ 3.7

€ PizzeriaPonente

Pizzeria Da Raffa in Sestri Ponente, Genoa, opens at 18:45 every evening and keeps baking pizza, farinata and focaccia al formaggio until 00:30.

OrderMargherita (€6.50), focaccia al formaggio (€9) or a plain farinata (€9), all priced on the site.

TipIt is one of the few Genoa pizzerias open until 00:30 every night of the week; the site asks for bookings by telephone only.

Directions

Antico Forno della Casana ★ 4.4

€ Street foodCentro Storico

Antico Forno della Casana sells focaccia and farinata over the counter in a narrow Genoa alley, and Gambero Rosso files it under street food for 2025.

TryFocaccia genovese and farinata

TipGambero Rosso's street-food listing and its own page both point to the focaccia; the counter closes for an afternoon break from 14:00 to 16:00.

Directions

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