Stuffed focaccia broad beans, lemon, pecorino and fresh herbs
Serves 12 Time 1 hour plus proving
500g strong bread flour, plus extra
for dusting
7g sachet of dried yeast olive oil
750g broad beans, in their pods 4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh flatleaf parsley (30g) extra virgin olive oil
50g pecorino or Parmesan cheese lemon
30g fine stale breadcrumbs
Method
Put the flour and 5g of sea salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast into 300ml of lukewarm water, leave for a few minutes, then gradually pour it into the well, stirring and bringing in the flour from the outside to form a dough. Knead on a flourdusted surface for 10 minutes, or until smooth and springy. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean damp tea towel and prove in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, pod the broad beans into a bowl, pinching the skins off any larger ones (or use frozen, defrosting first). Peel the garlic, finely chop with the top leafy half of the parsley and add to the bowl with 75ml of extra virgin olive oil. Finely grate in the pecorino and lemon zest, squeeze in the juice, season, mix together, then put aside.
Lightly oil a deep baking tray
(30cm x 40cm), and dust evenly with the breadcrumbs. Pound the dough a few times with your fist, then roll or stretch it out to 30cm x 80cm. Drape half the dough into the tray, leaving the rest overhanging. Pour over the broad bean
mixture in an even layer, keeping some of the oil behind. Fold the overhanging dough over the top, drizzle with the reserved oil, then use your fingers to gently push down and, importantly, create lots of dips and wells in the dough. Cover with a clean damp tea
towel and leave to prove until doubled in size again.
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Sprinkle the dough with sea salt, then bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Let it cool on a board, then slice up and tuck in. Absolute heaven.