Focaccia

An unforgettable culinary lesson: learn French and Italian focaccia with Risa!

At SLImmersion, learning French isn’t limited to traditional courses. We believe that language is also learned through immersive experiences. We recently had the privilege of welcoming Risa, an American student like no other. At over 90 years old, this French langage and cooking enthusiast came to share a very special recipe with us: her Italian focaccia.

The preparation was a moment of conviviality and exchange, where Risa shared not only her technique, but also stories from her long life, marked by a love of cooking and the French language. Her passion and energy made this experience more than just a cooking class, reminding us that learning has no age limit.

Although some recipe details are jealously guarded, Risa gave us the broad outlines for making authentic focaccia at home: quality flour, patient rising and, of course, a personal touch to suit individual tastes. In her opinion, the secret lies in the dough’s resting time and the generous use of olive oil.

Recipe:

Equipment:

• Oven and hob
• Salad bowl
• Optional: kneading robot *3

Preparation:

• Mix the warm water, yeast and sugar in a bowl for 15 minutes.
• Pour the flour into the bowl
• Add 2 tablespoons of salt
• stir vigorously for 7/8 minutes
• Alongside, mix half the diced bell pepper *4, 60ml olive oil, and 2 crushed heads of garlic.
• Place a sheet of baking paper *5 on an ovenproof baking sheet
• Place the olive oil-covered dough on the baking sheet (without spreading it out), cover with cellophane paper and a kitchen towel.
• Leave to stand for 3 hours at room temperature
• Roll out the dough on the baking sheet and leave for a further 30 to 40 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200C°.
• Place in the oven *6 for 15 minutes
• Meanwhile, mix together 120ml olive oil, oregano and the remaining half of the bell pepper.
• Once ready, remove from the oven and garnish *7 with a mixture of olive oil, peppers and oregano.
• Add fleur de sel
• Bake one more time for 15 to 18 minutes.
• Enjoy!

This encounter with Risa illustrated one of SLImmersion’s core values: learning a language through real-life experiences. Thanks to this workshop, not only did we learn how to make a tasty focaccia, but we also practiced and enriched our French. Risa proved that, whatever your age or background, learning is a never-ending adventure. Many thanks to her for her generosity and for showing us that it’s possible to combine a love of cooking with a passion for the French language.

Glossary :

*1 : Eau tiède :Warm water

*2 : Gousse d’ail : Garlic clove

*3 : Robot pétrisseur : Dough kneading machine

*4 : Petits dés : Small dice

*5 : Papier cuisson : Parchment paper

*6 : Enfourner : Put in the oven

*7 : Garnir : Garnish

Exercise