Sweet and Savory Strawberry Focaccia

Strawberry season is in full swing here in Florida. I am always looking for new ways to use produce when they are at their season's peak. Sweet and Savory Strawberry Focaccia is an elegant and easy way to celebrate this crimson fruit.

I love this recipe both for its combination of sweet and savory ingredients but also because it takes a grocery store short cut and turns it into something magical. With just a little bit of preplanning, this focaccia couldn't be easier.

Very Berry Delicious

What are your favorite focaccia toppings? I love adding unexpected ingredients like fruit to my focaccia and combining it with savory toppings for that balance. With only a handful of ingredients, Sweet and Savory Strawberry Focaccia comes together for a delicious melody of flavors.

All focaccia starts with the dough. While many recipes have you measuring flour by weight, waiting for your yeast to activate, and mastering the fine art of kneading, this recipe takes the help of your grocery store bakery.

While you're taking the shortcut of buying the dough, the process of allowing it to rise two times remains the same. This is part of what gives focaccia both its texture, that crispy bite of an exterior and airy doughy middle, and also flavor.

With the base of your focaccia made easy, it's all about the fresh toppings. While the strawberries are completely the star, these bright and cheery berries need the perfect accents to help them dazzle a little more. If you've ever seen the movie Goodfellas, there's a scene where garlic is sliced paper thin with a razor. Slices of garlic are feathered across the pizza, offering up a bright pop of flavor.

Aromatic and woodsy rosemary brings an herbaceous note to this focaccia. Salt and pepper bring out all of the natural flavors and enhance them. For a final finishing touch a drizzle of honey ties everything together.

This focaccia is special on its own. Open a bottle of wine or mix up your favorite cocktail and your Friday afternoon has just become an event. You can also serve this with a salad and make a brunch or lunch of it.

Firing Up Sweet and Savory Strawberry Focaccia

With your pizza dough in hand, this recipe couldn't be easier. The hardest part is deciding which drink to serve with it.

• Allow the dough to come to room temperature.
• Drizzle your baking dish or cast iron skillet with olive oil and place the pizza dough into it. Spread the dough out.
• Cover it with a towel and allow it to rest for three hours at room temperature.
• Use your fingers to poke holes in your dough creating pockets.
• Allow the dough to rest a couple more hours.
• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
• Spread the dough out one more time.
• Spread the strawberries, garlic, and rosemary over the dough.
• Season it with salt and pepper and drizzle on more olive oil.
• Bake the focaccia for 20 minutes or until it's golden brown and the strawberries are roasted.
• When it's still warm drizzle honey over the top.

Are you looking for the perfect cocktail to serve with this? Make sure you check out my recipe for Strawberry Black Pepper Gin and Tonic.