Name: Focaccia sarda ripiena (home recipe)
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500g strong white flour; 325ml water; 7g fresh yeast; 10g salt; 30ml extra virgin olive oil; 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced; 200g good tinned tuna in oil, drained; 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced; 8 anchovy fillets; 1 small red onion, sliced thin; 80g pancetta, crisped; A handful of rocket; Mayonnaise loosened with lemon juice

History

The filled Sardinian focaccia is a modern Alghero invention rather than an old one. Antonio Gavino Fiori and his wife Maria Pasqua Provenzi came home from Australia and bought a bar on Via Garibaldi opposite the port in 1971, where Maria built a sandwich around thin flat bread and a sauce the family has never published. Focaccia del Milese and Focaccia Sarda Ripiena are now registered trademarks, and the queue on Via Garibaldi is a fixture of the Alghero lunch hour. It costs a few euros, it is cut to order, and it is the cheapest good thing to eat in the old town.

Common allergens: Gluten, Fish, Egg

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

500g strong white flour
325ml water
7g fresh yeast
10g salt
30ml extra virgin olive oil
3 ripe tomatoes, sliced
200g good tinned tuna in oil, drained
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
8 anchovy fillets
1 small red onion, sliced thin
80g pancetta, crisped
A handful of rocket
Mayonnaise loosened with lemon juice

Method

Dissolve the yeast in the water, add the flour and mix to a shaggy dough, then rest 20 minutes before working in the salt and oil.
Fold the dough in the bowl three times at 30 minute intervals, then prove until doubled, about 2 hours.
Flatten onto an oiled tray to about 1.5cm thick, dimple it and prove another 30 minutes.
Bake at 230C for 15 to 18 minutes until pale gold and dry underneath, then cool completely.
Cut into squares and split each one horizontally.
Spread the lemon mayonnaise on both cut faces, then layer tomato, tuna, egg, anchovy, onion, pancetta and rocket.
Press the lid on firmly and cut in half to serve.

Tip from the editors. Cool the bread fully before filling. Warm focaccia steams the rocket and turns the base soggy within minutes.