Garden focaccia prosciutto
Some time ago, I offered you a first recipe for garden focaccia, these large flatbreads originating from Italy that are served as an aperitif.
It looks like fougasse and in this version, this garden focaccia prosciutto is also garnished with raw ham, which I added after cooking.
The dough is prepared the day before and goes through several rising phases: this is the best guarantee that the focaccia will be very soft. Then just let your creativity speak: stock up on vegetables, fresh herbs and edible flowers.
You can choose cherry tomatoes, peppers, red onions, mini peppers, asparagus, etc. Here, I made flowers with poivrade artichoke sepals and raw ham petals. Some elements, like edible flowers, which are fragile, are added after cooking to preserve their beauty.
Every time I’ve made one, it’s been a great success when it’s time to bring it to the table.
I find that it is not that complicated to do, you just have to let your creativity flow and let yourself be carried away by your inspiration.
Nothing prevents you from drawing a draft of your garden focaccia on a piece of paper to guide you if that seems simpler to you.
No need to be a great artist, just a real gourmand to enjoy it 😉!
Ingredients
For the focaccia:
- 700 g flour
- 10 g fresh baker’s yeast
- 380 g of water
- 20 g of salt
- 25 g extra virgin olive oil
For the brine:
- 150 g of lukewarm water
- 70 g extra virgin olive oil
- 6 g of salt
For garnish :
- some mini colored peppers
- a few long stems of chives
- 2Â peppered artichokes
- 70 g prosciutto
- cocktail tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
- fresh herbs parsley, dill, basil, etc.
- chive flowers borage flowers, etc. (optional)
- olive oil
- Sesame seeds
- lemon juice
Instructions
Prepare the focaccia:
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Mix the flour, water and fresh yeast in a bowl or the bowl of your food processor and knead until the mixture begins to form crumbs.
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Add the olive oil and salt then, when the mixture becomes homogeneous, form a ball and put the dough in an oiled container.
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Cover and leave to rest for 2 hours.
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When the dough has doubled in volume, turn the dough out onto a work surface, knead lightly and reform into a ball.
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Put it back in the oiled container and wrap again.
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Let sit in the refrigerator overnight.
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The next day, take out the dough and roll it out on a lightly oiled baking sheet (mine measures 30 x 40 cm).
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Let the dough rest again for 1h30 in a turned off oven (I preheated mine to 30°C before turning it off).
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Remove the baking sheet from the oven and then make holes in the surface of the dough with your moistened fingers.
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Sprinkle generously with brine (it is not necessary to use the whole amount).
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Let it rest again for 1 hour 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Prepare the filling:
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Remove the leaves and hay from the poivrade artichokes, then cut them in half and sprinkle them with lemon.
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Arrange them on the dough to resemble the stems of the flowers. Remember to leave room for the prosciutto that will be added after cooking.
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Arrange the other ingredients on the surface of the focaccia: tomatoes, pepper or onion slices to represent the flowers, chives for the stems, basil, rocket, fennel or parsley leaves for the vegetation… (don’t hesitate to add a little olive oil to make it adhere well, but there is already quite a bit on the surface.)
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Add some sesame seeds on the flowers.
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Generally speaking, be creative!
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Then bake the focaccia for about 15 minutes.
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Let cool a little then add the prosciutto on top of the peppered artichokes, like rose petals.
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Finish decorating with flowers and fresh herbs before serving.