Forward: Though I have been mostly Americanized at this point, I still have some stubborn English-isms, courgette (aka zucchini) is one of them, up there with the pronunciation for basil (bah-zul NEVER bay-zil, yuck).
Sometimes (though rarely) good things come out of roommate situations. Learning that white truffle oil is the tits was one of those things. This recipe is a distant relative of something our old roommate would make that was kind of like a white pizza that we have adapted over the years. Thanks Abigail for introducing us to the wonderful white truffle!
White truffle can be an acquired taste, but if you like it you will love this. We were lucky enough to visit Italy in white truffle season a few years ago and while we were there we had it at every opportunity. Dekalb Farmers Market is a great source for both the oil and the dough, as it it usually is a good source for everything. Enjoy!
Footnote: Why is this focaccia and not pizza or flatbread? I have a very thin argument for this being called focaccia. Firstly, I watched 5 minutes of a show about how to treat focaccia dough; you make little wells with your fingers (imagine you are making typing motion but slow and more forcefully..) for the juices to get all up into. I applied that to this and voila – focaccia! Really, focaccia has a slightly different consistency but depending on the rise and the pan you use you can make this more foccaccia-like or pizza-like. ie, smaller pan = focaccia. Lastly, always a fan of letting function and convenience inform recipes, pizza is generally cooked at a higher temperature than focaccia, our oven never was able to get hot enough so that was yet another vote for focaccia!
White Truffle Courgette Focaccia
1/2 a medium courgette, sliced thinly- 2 spring onions, sliced thinly
- 1 tub of fresh mozerella (ciligine (small balls) or bocconcini (big balls))
- white truffle oil, 2 tablespoons
- olive oil, 1 tablespoon
- lemon juice, 2 tsp (or squeeze a bit fresh lemon on there, even better!)
- spring mix, 2 handfuls
- s+p
Take dough out of fridge to rise (usually an hour before you want to start cookin’). Wash and slice your courgettes and spring onions. Oil baking pan (~12×16) and stretch dough (artfully in circular motion as to avoid holes!) until it fits comfortably into the pan. Drizzle with your white truffle oil and olive oil. Spread the oil across the dough with your fingers. While you are doing this you can make a pressing, prodding motion making small wells in the dough. Place the courgette onto the dough, then spread your spring onion slices. Don’t be afraid to press some of these ingredients into the dough, its tasty. Lastly, take your little mozzarella balls and stretch them apart and then place on dough. Salt and pepper, sometimes a quick drizzle more of white truffle oil. Cook on 385 for 10 minutes. Go and check it out, salivate, (turn it around if your oven is prone to baking things unevenly) cook for another 10 minutes. Rinse your greens. Take out of oven. After it has cooled for about 5-10 minutes, throw on about two handfuls of spring greens and your lemon juice, sometimes I use the back of a spoon to kind of press the greens down so they mix a bit with the hot oil. Cut. Eat. Fight over last slice with cooking companion.
