True pizza is a disk of dough topped with ingredients and baked in a hot oven. Pizza di pane is similar; you take a focaccia of the kind that's about 8 inches long, 3-4 wide, and at the most a half inch high, split lengthwise, and top the two halves with tomato, cheese, and whatever else suits you -- in this case olives. It's a perfect snack, and wonderful with a beer too. Ingredients to serve 4:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- A focaccia (or ciabatta; the name varies from place to place in Italy) -- see below link
- 2 pounds (900 g) cherry or plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped, and drained
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 6 basil leaves, shredded
- 2/3 pound (300 g) mozzarella, diced
- A handful of black olives, pitted and chopped
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Sauté the garlic in 1/4 cup of oil, and as soon as it begins to color add the tomatoes. Cook over a moderate flame for about 15 minutes, stirring in the oregano after 7.
Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C)
Slice the focaccia in half lengthwise and put the halves on a cookie sheet lined with oven paper, crust side down. Top them with the tomatoes, followed by the mozzarella and the olives. Bake them for 15 minutes, by which time the mozzarella will have melted nicely. After you remove them from the oven, garnish them with the shredded basil, season them with a grind of black pepper, and cut each slice in half to make the four portions. Serve at once, with a thin drizzle of olive oil if you want.
Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C)
Slice the focaccia in half lengthwise and put the halves on a cookie sheet lined with oven paper, crust side down. Top them with the tomatoes, followed by the mozzarella and the olives. Bake them for 15 minutes, by which time the mozzarella will have melted nicely. After you remove them from the oven, garnish them with the shredded basil, season them with a grind of black pepper, and cut each slice in half to make the four portions. Serve at once, with a thin drizzle of olive oil if you want.
