Eat, Pray, Love or is it Eat, Love, Pray?

The current "Chick Flick" is "Eat, Pray, Love" chronicling the quest to find oneself that Elizabeth Gilbert embarks on.  Her first point of call is Italy where she regales us with her non-stop feast.  I understand this well as I spent 6 months in Italy (Milano to be exact) studying footwear design back when there was a Canadian footwear industry.  During my time there, I marvelled at the way that the Italians revered food - it wasn't just something that you did 3 times a day often in a car with the paper wrappers sort of spread out in hopes that the juices would be contained whilst you downed the article to be consumed (hate to give it the status of actual food) as quickly as possible.  No, the Italians would frown most emphatically at that notion and in a somewhat disgusted tone make reference to "Americanos".  No, this is a land that celebrates the meal and from the very simple to the complex, every dish is afforded the respect that it deserves.  I remember sitting in a park in the late September sun at the noon break (which by the way goes from noon hour until 3 pm - yes, really!  And EVERYTHING closes.) enjoying a slice of what I now know to be focaccia, dimpled and tossed with caramelized onion and olive oil which I got just out of the oven from a little store just up the road from the school I was attending and a fresh tomato from the fruit and vegetable store and thinking that I had died and gone to heaven. 

So today I just got in a little somethin', somethin' that is pretty special.  Along with the parmigiano reggiano and pecorinos that Italy is so famous for, Italians love soft, fresh cheese.  We are probably most familiar with ricotta which we have become accustomed to adding to our lasagna but there is a world of wonderful soft cheeses - La Tur, Burrata, fresh mozzarella or  Bocaccini are just a few that come to mind.  And this one, Stracchino which is the one that I will focus on today.

Stacchino is a derivative of the word "stracca" which means quite literally tired as in cows which have been moved up and down the slopes of the Alps.  Apparently the milk that these poor tired cows produce is richer in fats and more acidic which gives this soft, silky custard-like cheese its characteristically delicate, tangy flavour.  It comes from the northern part of Italy, Lombardy, of which Milano is its capital!  These cheeses do not have a long shelf life and therefore up to now, getting them to Canada quickly has been problematic and VERY EXPENSIVE!  But now an Italian family, no doubt pining for these delicacies, has started to produce them here in Canada!  In stock today at "C'est Cheese Please!" is Stracchino in a 200g container for the bargain price of $8.79, ready to spread on a crusty bread with your favorite fruit preserve or maybe served in this traditional way, spread on focaccia.

Focaccia al Formaggio

500g durum wheat flour

5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Make a mound of the flour on your work table and scoop a well in the middle.  Pour 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into the well, a small ladle of warm water and 2 healthy pinches of salt.  Work this mixture into a dough and knead until it is soft, smooth and elastic.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 360F and divide the dough into 2 pieces.  Roll out to a thin disk the size of the baking sheet that you are using (a 12 - 14 inch pizza pan should be right).  Lightly oil the pan and spread the first sheet of dough on it.  Roughly (with your hands) shred the cheese and dot the dough with it.  Spread the second sheet of dough over everything and roll the edges up and around to form a rim that seals the two sheets.  You can add a decorative look by pressing the tines of a fork around the edge.  Puncture the top sheet so that the moisture can escape and bake for about 15 minutes until the top is golden.

Now, go find that tomato and Eat, Love and Pray for more!

I found a really great video that shows how to make Focaccia al Formaggio except that it is in Italian, but regardless I think that you will see the method quite well and this guy is such an expert kneader - watch his his hands so expertly kneading and then throwing the dough around to shape it - WOW!  I will post that on the "C'est Cheese Please Facebook Page"

Buon Appetito!