Focaccia genovese (fügassa in Ligurian dialect) is one of the specialities of Ligurian cuisine. It is a kind of thin bread (max 2 cm). Its dough is made from flour, water, yeast, salt and oil extra virgin (and that’s all!).
You can find focaccia in many regions of Italy. However, only the Ligurian is the original one. It was invented in Genoa where it is still prepared according to the traditional recipe (as well as in the whole region).
The Ligurians can eat focaccia at any time of the day. For breakfast with cappuccino, during the day as a snack, as an appetizer with a glass of white wine or in the evening, before a dinner.
Anytime is good for tasting focaccia 😉
Aside from classic focaccia genovese, you can find a wide choice of different types of focaccia:
- Focaccia with onion (FOCACCIA CON LE CIPOLLE). In the past, it was very popular, especially in the poor districts of Genoa. Because onion was very cheap. At the same time, it is proven that onion is able to block the feeling of hunger (tasty and brilliant!). It was also the main meal of the longshoremen.
- Focaccia with olive (FOCACCIA CON LE OLIVE)
- Focaccia with sage (FOCACCIA CON LA SALVIA). Every year, during the first weekend of August, in a village Santa Giulia, there is a feast organized in honour of focaccia with sage (Sagra della focaccia con la salvia). Probably the best place to try it 😉
- Focaccia with rosemary (FOCACCIA CON IL ROSMARINO)
- Focaccia with tomato (FOCACCIA CON I POMODORI)
- Focaccia with hazelnut (FOCACCIA CON LE NOCI)
- Sweet focaccia (FOCACCIA DOLCE)
- Focaccia with cheese (FOCACCIA CON IL FORMAGGIO PGI). A speciality from Recco. It is different from classic focaccia because it is more fluid. It tastes like …. nothing you can compare with !!! It is really out of the box! It is so unique that it is protected by European Certificate PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). Don’t miss it! You absolutely should try it!
Interesting facts about Focaccia:
- It takes about 20 hours to prepare the dough for focaccia!
- You can buy it already cut into stripes (strisce) 40/60g each.
- Until the end of XVI century, people were allowed to eat focaccia even during a mass!
- In 2008 the longest focaccia ever was made. It was long 807 meters. It took 300 kg of flour and 150 litres of water to prepare it!
