Argentina: Fugazzeta

As I mentioned in my previous post on Angola (check it out here), I skipped Antigua and Barbuda to cook something from Argentina first because I was making this to bring to an international dinner at my school. The food that I had picked out for Argentina, fugazzeta, was a better thing to be shared.

Fugazza is a popular Argentinian pizza which is topped with sweet onions. I, however, chose to make fugazzeta, which is a variation of fugazza. Fugazzeta is a double crusted version of fugazza which is stuffed with mozzarella between the two crusts, and still topped with sweet onions.

This pizza is absolutely amazing!! I loved it. This pizza does not have any pizza sauce on it, so I was wondering how this pizza would taste because of that. It was so delicious though. Possibly one of the best pizzas that I have ever had. The combination of the mozzarella stuffed crust and the parmesan and oregano on top made it a mouth-watering treat. No wonder it is a popular meal in Argentina.

I doubled the recipe in order to make two pizzas, but I ended up only having time to make one pizza before the dinner, so I have the extra pizza dough in my fridge. I will likely be making this again tomorrow. This was the first time that I had ever made a pizza crust before. It turned out very well. This recipe for pizza dough is a really good one. I’m saving this recipe for sure! Also, everyone who managed to get a slice of it at the dinner said that it was really delicious too!

Fugazzeta

2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 onion
6-8 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/3 cup grated aged provolone cheese (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Parmesan cheese

Warm the milk to 100-105 degrees F, and place in a small bowl. Stir the sugar into the milk and sprinkle the yeast over. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, until mixture is bubbly.

Place the flour, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix together briefly using the dough hook. Add the yeast/milk mixture and begin to knead, adding the water gradually. The mixture should come together as a soft, stretchy dough, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add a bit more flour if mixture is too wet, and add a bit more water if mixture seems dry, crumbly, or overly firm. Knead for 5-10 minutes, until dough is smooth, soft and elastic.

Oil a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, peel and slice the onion into very thin strips. Place them in a bowl of cold salt water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain onions well and dry them with paper towels.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide dough into two pieces. Roll each half into a smooth ball. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a 12-inch pizza pan or cast iron skillet. Place one ball of dough in the middle of the pan and flatten gently with your fingers. Let dough relax for 10 minutes.

Continue to flatten dough into the pan, flattening it and pushing it toward the sides of the pan, letting it relax in between, until dough covers the bottom of the pan. Oil the counter and roll the other piece of dough into a 12-inch circle, letting it relax in between until it holds its shape.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the slices of mozzarella cheese over the dough in the pan. Sprinkle the provolone over the mozzarella. Place the other round of dough over the cheese and seal the edges of the two dough circles together.

Top the pizza with the sliced onions. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over the onions, and sprinkle with the dried oregano and some Parmesan cheese.

Place the fugazzeta in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and crispy. Brown the onions under the broiler for the last 3 minutes of cooking if desired.

Remove from the oven. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.

Recipe courtesy of: http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/maincourses/r/Fugazzeta-Stuffed-Argentinian-Style-Pizza.htm

Also, shout out to my mom who helped me make this pizza.

Well, next stop on my journey cooking my way around the world, Antigua and Barbuda. 6 countries down, 189 more to go.