Sfincione: Palermo Focaccia
A Palermo-style focaccia topped with tomatoes, anchovies, onions, breadcrumbs, and cheese.
Ingredients
Caciocavallo cheese (coarsely grated)
1 cup (about 4 ounces/100 grams)
Pecorino Romano (finely grated)
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces/50 grams)
Focaccia Dough (see page 114)
1 recipe
dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoons
fine, dry bread crumbs
1 cup
olive oil
1/2 cup
onion (peeled, halved, and thinly sliced from stem to root end)
1 large (about 8 ounces/225 grams)
anchovy fillets in olive oil (drained and coarsely chopped)
1 (2-ounce/50-gram) can
tomato purée
1.5 cups
Salt (only a little because of the anchovies and cheese)
freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1
Step 1
While the dough is rising, prepare the toppings. Pour 1/2 cup of olive oil into a 10-inch skillet and heat over medium-low. Add the onion and sauté slowly until softened and starting to lightly color. Stir in the anchovies
2
Step 2
Add the tomato purée and simmer the sauce until the raw tomato taste dissipates, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, using salt sparingly. Scrape the sauce onto a plate or glass pie dish and refrigerate for a few minutes to cool
3
Step 3
When the dough is almost finished rising, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C)
4
Step 4
Uncover the dough and use your fingertips to gently press dimples every 1–1.5 inches (4 cm) apart. Spoon the sauce over the top of the dough and use a small metal spatula to spread a thin, even layer of sauce over the entire dough
5
Step 5
Sprinkle the cheeses over the sauce, then sprinkle the oregano leaves and bread crumbs in succession. Drizzle with the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil
6
Step 6
Bake the Sfincione until it has fully puffed and the topping is dry and starting to color, about 30 minutes. Rotate the pan front to back halfway through baking
7
Step 7
Let the Sfincione cool on the pan set on a rack for 5 minutes, then slide it off the pan onto the rack using a wide metal spatula to finish cooling
