Focaccia with Fragata garlic filled olives and cherry tomatoes

This simple focaccia recipe is rich with the flavours of Fragata Olives filled with garlic and cherry tomatoes. It makes the perfect side, and is irresistible served warm. Moist but airy, focaccia is olive oil-rich flatbread. Italian in origin, it soon spread across Europe (and beyond) and there are similar breads all around the Mediterranean. Its fluffy texture, sandwiched between two crunchier crusts, makes it an ideal dipping bread. There are similarities between focaccia and pizza dough (that other Italian favourite). Focaccia has a far higher yeast content which ensures it rises much more, as does the resting time it’s given to rise (pizza dough is cooked right after it's stretched). Oil (olive, of course) also features in focaccia but is left out entirely in many classic pizza dough recipes. And whilst pizza is of course topped with ingredients before cooking, focaccia works beautifully topped with them afterwards. You can even add ingredients prior to baking, such as the cherry tomatoes and olives used here. The garlic infusion from our filled olives adds a depth of flavour, whilst the sweetness of cherry tomatoes offers the perfect balance to the olives. You can, of course, experiment with adding other flavours to this focaccia recipe. Other filled olives, such as our chorizo or jalapeno varieties would work well. Being filled with olives (and tomatoes) means that this focaccia is delicious enough to enjoy on its own. Drizzle with olive oil or sprinkle with herbs to add an extra dimension of flavour. You could also serve it alongside Mediterranean soups and stews, or perhaps on a platter with cheeses and dips, olives and cold cuts. However you enjoy it, homemade bread is always impressive, delicious, and in this case, surprisingly simple to make.