Stuffed focaccia with Swiss chard, ricotta, and Calabrian sausage, a rustic focaccia that is very easy to make and delicious. It starts from a simple dough for bread or pizza, just flour, water, salt, and a little yeast. For the filling, the chard is boiled and quickly sautéed in a pan, well-drained, left to cool, and used to fill the focaccia along with sheep’s ricotta and fresh Calabrian sausage. I used homemade sausage, which my mother makes exceptionally well, making every preparation special. This focaccia turned out special, and we eat it without feeling too guilty since I used just enough sausage to give it that extra touch. It was delicious, great hot, but also cold or reheated, and yes, I made it along with the pizza, so we ate it the next day too. It stays as good as freshly made; I reheated the last piece in the oven, and it seemed freshly made, soft and delicious, with an easy dough worked with a spoon and quick folds in a bowl.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 6 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients for Focaccia with Swiss Chard, Ricotta, and Calabrian Sausage
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp fresh yeast
- 1 1/8 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 head Swiss chard or 2 without stems
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 7 oz sheep's ricotta
- 3 1/2 oz fresh Calabrian sausage
Tools to Prepare the Focaccia with Swiss Chard, Ricotta, and Calabrian Sausage
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Pot
- 1 Baking pan
Steps to Prepare Stuffed Focaccia with Swiss Chard, Ricotta, and Sausage
Start preparing the dough in advance. I prepared it around 2:00 PM, and it was ready by 8:00 PM. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water, but make sure it’s not hot. Mix with a spoon, then add about 2/3 of the flour and mix with a spoon. Take a short break.
Then add the salt, mix, and take another break before gradually adding all the flour, making it easy to work almost entirely with a spoon. Only when you add all the flour, work quickly by hand. Let it rest for another 10 minutes, then work quickly to give a bit of a fold, and repeat a couple of times. You’ll see it will become a perfect dough that doesn’t stick to your hands or the bowl without needing more flour. Let it rise in a warm corner; I put it in the oven with a cup of boiling water next to it.
Meanwhile, prepare the chards; I had a nice head of Swiss chard and used that, but even better if you have the simple non-stem kind. Clean it and boil it, already chopped finely, in boiling water. Then drain well and sauté with garlic, oil, and a little salt. Let cool.
Around 6:00 PM, the dough will have risen, prepare 2 dough balls of the same weight, use flour to get 2 smooth dough balls and let them rise on a floured surface, cover, and let them rise for about 1 hour in the warmth.
When the dough balls have risen, preheat the oven to the highest temperature in convection mode, mine at 482°F. Immediately stretch the dough balls on a floured surface without a rolling pin. Use one to line a 12.5-inch diameter non-stick mold. Begin filling with the ricotta, spreading it over the surface, then add the crumbled sausage; I put a little, just enough to add flavor, you can add more if you wish, then cover with the chard. At this point, only the second dough needs to be closed.
To close the focaccia well, fold the base dough with the cover, pinching. Then poke the surface with a fork and press to release the air and adhere the surface to the filling. If you want a golden focaccia on top, you can brush with extra virgin olive oil; I preferred to leave it light.
Bake for at least 15 minutes in a hot convection oven at 482°F. Remove from the oven when well cooked. It can be enjoyed hot from the oven, warm, but also good cold. If leftovers remain, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheated in the oven at medium temperature for a few minutes.
