- Allowing the dough to rise in a cool place provides greater flavor development and a lighter texture.
- Deeply caramelized Spanish onions, thinly sliced fingerling potatoes, fresh thyme, and buttery robiola cheese combine to give sweet, savory, creamy, and crisp contrast in each bite.
- A drizzle of olive oil and a final quick bake to warm the cheese on top makes for a lovely presentation and a rich, melt-in-your-mouth finish.
When she was the pastry chef at New York City’s Gramercy Tavern, Claudia Fleming created a “Between Meals” menu that showcased both her sweet and savory recipes. Her secret to making focaccia that’s soft and delicate with a great crust is allowing the dough to rise slowly in a cool place away from the oven.
How to caramelize onions
Golden, beautifully caramelized onions are not difficult to achieve, but do require a bit of patience. Here, you’ll start by thinly slicing a large Spanish onion — aim for about a 1/4-inch thickness, keeping the slices as uniform as possible to encourage even cooking. Then, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion, water, thyme, and salt as instructed in Step 6. Let the onion cook for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally. As it reduces in volume, scrape the onion into a sort of flat patty in the center of the pan to prevent scorched edges.
If the onion starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, or if the fond on the bottom of the pan darkens more quickly than the onion, add a splash more of water, stirring and scraping any browned bits and repeating as necessary. The whole process should take between 40 minutes and an hour; once the onion is golden brown throughout, remove it from the heat.
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
- Use a mandoline or sharp knife to slice the potatoes thinly (about 1/8-inch thick) to ensure they cook evenly and become tender during baking.
- For the crispiest crust, allow the oven and baking stone a full 30 minutes to preheat.
- After baking, remove the focaccia from the pan and place any that are not immediately being served on a wire rack to cool — this will prevent the bottoms from becoming soggy.
Suggested pairing
A light, fruity red, such as Dolcetto, accents both the sweetness and the tang of this dish.