The Carnival Salento focaccia is a typical savory pie prepared on Fat Tuesday in the Salento area of Puglia.
It has a filling of pork and small pieces, although in this case, I asked the butcher to prepare coarsely ground pork, with added mozzarella, pecorino, making it quite flavorful.
I personally recommend this rustic focaccia all year round, as it is really a delicious rustic pie to enjoy anytime.
Great as a main dish and therefore an excellent solution for dinner.
Like all leavened recipes, it obviously requires time, so I recommend preparing it at a calm time when you are at home. For the recipe, I used the Pecorino Romano from the Pinna Formaggi company, a company rich in history and their products are a guarantee.
Here is my recipe with step-by-step photos to make it and bon appétit!!
Approx. 974 Kcal per person
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Expensive
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Puglia
- Seasonality: Carnival, All seasons
Ingredients for a Salento Carnival Focaccia for 4 people
- 0.88 oz Fresh brewer's yeast
- 1.69 cups Lukewarm water
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 5.2 cups “0” flour + 0.4 cups for final processing
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1 Medium onion
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 2.47 oz Grated Pecorino
- 8.82 oz Mozzarella
- 14.11 oz Pork loin in small pieces or coarsely ground
- 2 Ripe tomatoes
- to taste Salt
- to taste Pepper
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Preparation of the Salento Carnival Focaccia
Preparation of the pizza dough
In a large bowl, put the lukewarm water and yeast, the sugar and let it dissolve, then add 1.6 cups of flour and mix to incorporate the ingredients a bit, then add the salt and the remaining flour.
Knead the dough well, then transfer it to a floured work surface and knead it for at least 10 minutes.
Let it rise in the large bowl in a warm place, the oven light on will also work … it will take about 3 hours.
Preparation of the filling
Meanwhile, while the dough for the focaccia is rising, prepare the filling.
Put the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and let it sauté slightly, then add the small or ground pork and mix well, cooking for a few minutes.
Salt and pepper the mixture without overdoing it, then add the chopped tomatoes and continue cooking for a few minutes until everything is cooked and any cooking water is reduced, but not too dry.
Once the focaccia dough has risen, take it and place it on the floured work surface, knead it just for a minute, recreating a ball, flatten the dough by creating a rectangle, fold it in half
then turn it horizontally and divide the dough in two.
Prepare the baking pan for the focaccia, it should have a diameter of 11 inches, grease it and roll out the first half of the dough to a not too thin thickness and place it on the pan, leaving some dough over the edges.
Pour the cooled meat inside the dough, spreading it well over the entire surface, then sprinkle with grated Pecorino and complete with mozzarella torn by hand.
Roll out the second disk of dough creating the size to cover the inside of the pizza, then close the pizza with the excess from the first layer, cutting off the excess.
Seal the circumference well and then use a fork to poke holes all over the dough surface, brush with extra virgin olive oil.
Bake in a hot oven at 355°F for 60 minutes, allowing the top to brown.
