You can learn a lot about a place from its favourite form of bread. Nothing sums up New York’s Jewish roots quite like the bagel – best topped with lox and eaten on the run. In Paris, the croissant, flaky, decadent and difficult for the home baker to replicate, signals the city’s appreciation for exquisite, if impractical things.
In Recco, a small seaside town in the Italian region of Liguria, it’s all about focaccia, or more precisely, focaccia col formaggio del Recco — a version of the much-loved Italian staple in which crisped-to-perfection dough encases a layer of liquid, impossibly creamy stracchino cheese. In Liguria, you can find it at pocket-sized focaccerias and trattorias that overlook the Mediterranean. You can also find it at , a Rozelle ristorante, pizzeria, bakery and aperitivo bar founded by Antonio Zamberelli – the DJ and entrepreneur behind pioneering Sydney nightclubs Tank and Home – late last year.
“I’m from Recco, a small town of about 10,000 on the Italian Riviera near Portofino and the Cinque Terre and although I come from a clubbing and music background, I have good friends who are chefs that really inspire me and I’ve always been a great lover of food,” says Zambarelli, who studied pizza-making in Naples and gelato at the Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna before opening ReccoLab’s doors. “After so many years in music, I thought it was time to embrace a new concept. Music, melodies, entertainment, food — it’s all about creating an experience for patrons. I wanted to work on a food concept where we operate all day, experiment and try out new ingredients.”
The focaccia col formaggio is crisp, ultra-thin dough encasing an oozy stracchino cheese. Source: ReccoLab
At ReccoLab, a bright, buzzy space on a leafy residential corner, you can swing by in the morning for espresso and pastries and stop in for octopus with kipfler potatos and beef rump Battuta (Italy’s answer to steak tartare) with anchovies and burrata for lunch. Or if you’re brave, go Tuesday night for Giro Pizza — an all-you-can-eat evening where waiters bring out an endless procession of slices including the exemplary Montanara topped with fior di latte, mushrooms, sausage and taleggio. But as Zambarelli puts it, you can’t go past his hometown icon, which is available in a classic version or stuffed with ingredients such as prosciutto, pesto and Italian truffles.
“It’s an artisanal dish and one of the most appreciated dishes we have in Liguria,” says Zamberelli. “There is only one version of Foccacio Col Formaggio and it’s the original recipe. It’s two layers of incredibly thin dough filled with stracchino, which is a cow’s milk cheese — it’s so important to the production of the dish, we air freight it from Italy.
As for the secret to mastering the art of focaccia col formaggio del Recco?
“Because I was born in Recco, I’ve learned the secret. It’s baked at an extremely high temperature for about six minutes, which delivers a sweet and savoury experience that’s life-changing. You must really try it to understand.”
is open Tues 7am - 3:30pm, 5-10pm; Wed & Thur 7am-3:30pm, 5:30pm-10pm; Fri & Sat 7am-3:30pm, 5:30-11pm; Sun 7am-3:30pm; 5:30pm-10pm
120 Terry St Rozelle, NSW
