Argentinian Stuffed Pizza Is A Must-Try For Cheese Lovers
Pizza is a food that is truly everywhere. It's adaptable to local tastes, like the Pizza Hut Taiwan creation that stumped people on social media with its cheese, mango, and durian, or Brazilian pizzas that can feature palm hearts, cream cheese, and curried chicken. Wherever you are you can find a pizza attuned to its environment. The same is true for Argentina, where there's a pizza stuffed with two or three different kinds of cheese — a cheese lover's fantasy come to life.
Called a fugazzeta, it comes from Italian immigrants who brought their focaccia recipes with them to Argentina. From focaccia came the fugazza, an Argentinian thick-crust pizza. The fugazzeta is a cross between an onion fugazza and a cheese fugazza; a fugazzetta marries the two by baking the mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan cheeses between two pizza crusts. The pizza comes smothered in sweet onions (either sautéed or raw) to counteract the salty, heavy cheese. A sprinkle of oregano and black pepper finish off the dish. And yes, the cheese pull is ridiculously satisfying.
The origins of the fugazzeta are a bit hazy, but legend has it that the Banchero family immigrated from Genoa, Italy in 1883 and settled in Buenos Aires, where they opened a bakery. In 1932 they opened a pizzeria and created the fugazzeta. The Banchero family still owns and operates the bakery today, where you can enjoy the delicious Italian-Argentinian delicacy.
Despite its seeming versatility, it's best to keep fugazzeta simple
Don't be tempted to add pizza sauce or crazy toppings — just let the cheese and onions speak for themselves. You can, however, layer prosciutto or jamón inside, while some like to add sautéed vegetables or spinach to create a fugazzeta de verdura. Your toppings can include onion and cheese, or just onion. If you find the onions too strong, you can soak them in salted ice water and dry them out before piling them on — it's a nice trick for a less overpowering onion flavor.
While you can use store-bought dough, there are a few tips to keep in mind when making homemade fugazetta dough. This dough is a yeasted pizza dough made with milk, which will result in a softer consistency. As you knead — we recommend a stand mixer — stop around the five-minute mark to test gluten development with the window pane test. If it can't stretch without tearing, continue kneading.
The best cheeses for a fugazzeta are provolone and low-moisture mozzarella, either thinly sliced or grated. Don't use high-moisture fresh mozzarella, which is usually too wet and will make your fugazzeta soggy. If fresh is all you have on hand, drain it very well on paper towels. Layer the cheese like shingles, leaving about a half-inch border free for sealing. Top with the other layer of dough, pile onions on top, then bake and enjoy a cheesy, stretchy fugazzeta.