Friday Night Cheat's Grana Padano Pizza Pie

1 hour 30 minutes

Serves: 4; Preparation time: 30 minutes; Cooking time: 1 hr 30 minutes (including resting time); Difficulty: Easy

Cook Italian-inspired food with Alex Mackay - cook, teacher, cookery writer - sponsored by Grana Padano cheese

This is technically neither a pizza nor a pie, just an easy to make, delicious, cheese oozing, exactly what you feel like at the end of the week feast. I was fascinated by this dough - based on a recipe called Focaccia di Recco or Focaccia col Formaggio - because it doesn' have any yeast at all. Its perfection can be found in its imperfections, tender in parts, chewy in others and oh so cheesy, also that you have a very high cheese to dough ratio. I served it with a colourful bunch of salads, but you may well prefer to devour it straight from the oven on its own, this is not a recipe to keep waiting!

Cheese: Grana Padano

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Method

1. Get a large bowl. Add the flour, salt, water, and 4tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Mix the ingredients together with your dominant hand until everything is just combined. The dough will be soft and a bit sticky at this stage.
2. Scoop the dough onto your worktop. Knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic and bouncy, this can take 5 to 10 minutes and is a great way to work off any frustrations you have encountered during the week. Don't add flour unless you really have to. Alternatively if you want to relax, get a mixer with a dough hook to do the kneading.
3. Once the dough is ready, dust it lightly with flour. Cut the dough into 2. Shape the 2 pieces into oval balls. Pop them back into the bowl. Cover it with a cloth and put it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. This relaxes the dough and makes it easier to roll.
4. Pre-heat your oven to 230°C/Gas 8/Rack Position Top Shelf.
5. Line a baking sheet with a reusable non-stick mat. Brush the mat with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Dust your worktop and the dough with a little flour. Roll one ball of dough into a rectangle about 35cm long by 25cm wide (the thinner the better, don't worry about holes, longer and wider is fine, misshapen is also fine).
6. Sprinkle the grated Grana Padano evenly over the dough, leaving a 3-4cm around the edges. Sprinkle the sliced spring onions over the top of the cheese. Place the parsley leaves evenly over the top of the spring onions. Roll the second ball of dough to a slightly larger rectangle, if you need to stretch the dough with your fingers because it keeps bouncing back, do so. Use your rolling pin to help you lay this second rectangle over the top of the first with the cheese. Tuck any excess dough underneath. Press down very firmly around the outsides to seal the two pieces of dough together. Crimp the edges with a floured fork.
7. Use a very sharp knife to cut 12 or so slits on top of the dough.
8. Brush with 2 tbsp of extra olive oil. Sprinkle the salt flakes over the top. Lightly dust with flour.
9. Bake the pie for 18 - 22 minutes until it is golden brown and you can see the cheese bubbling through the slits. Eat it as soon as you can!

For the salad suggestions, try Parma Ham, Grana Padano Shavings, Fennel and Lemon; Broad Bean, Grana Padano Niblets, Lemon and Olive Oil; Fresh and Dried Tomato, Pomegranate and Radish.