Little Cheese Filled Fugassa with Thyme (Fugassette)

If you haven’t tried these delicious little cheese pockets, you are in for a treat! Fugassette literally translates to ‘little fugassa with cheese.’ It originated in the Ligurian region of Italy, and can be considered a variation on the famous Fugassa di Recco, a cheese filled fugassa. The ingredients are similar — flour, salt, water, and olive oil– all that’s missing is the yeast. Roll the dough thin and create a pocket for the cheese, and then fry them up.

In Italy, Fugassette are typically filled with Stracchino, a type of Italian cow’s-milk cheese, typical of Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, and Liguria. It is eaten very young, has no rind and a very soft, creamy texture, normally mild and delicate in flavor and makes the perfect melting cheese. If you can’t find Stracchino, Crescenza would be the next best choice. If you can’t find either of those, you could substitute a young mild flavored Brie, Teleggio, or Teleme, If you decide to use Brie, avoid using double or triple cream because the high butter fat content doesn’t hold up as well when frying.

Traditionally, Fugassette do not include herbs, but I couldn’t help myself and added some dried thyme. Feel free to omit the herbs, if you prefer. Serve as an appetizer with a glass of wine or as a main course alongside some mixed greens. Who am I kidding? Greens don’t stand a chance alongside these!

To begin, add flour, salt, water and olive oil to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Using the dough hook, knead the dough for five minutes. If the dough is too sticky, you may need to add a bit more flour. It should have the consistency of pasta dough, pulling away from the sides of the mixing bowl, leaving the bowl relatively clean. After kneading for five minutes, it should look like this.

Transfer the dough to a well floured work surface and form it into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax, making it easier to roll later.

While you are waiting for the dough, set up the frying station. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and a wire rack. Then, fill a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven with olive oil about 3″ deep and heat the olive oil to 350°F.

Once the dough has rested, use a pastry cutter or knife to cut off an egg sized chunk of dough. Using a pasta machine, pass the dough through the rollers until the sheets are about 1/8″ in thickness. On my Kitchen Aid attachment, I rolled it until I got to number 4. If you don’t have a pasta machine, a rolling pin will do the trick.

Using a pastry cutter, or a knife, trim two sheets of dough so they are roughly 12 inches long. This will make three 4″x6″ Fugassette once you are done assembling.

Space the cheese out on the dough so each Fugassette will be filled with one tablespoon of cheese. Leave a 1″ margin around the edges, so that when you cut the Fugassette into rectangles, the cheese will be in the center. Sprinkle with dried thyme.

Place the other sheet of dough on top to cover the cheese. Use your fingers to press around the cheese gently, eliminating as much air as possible. Using a fluted ravioli cutter or knife, cut the dough to make rectangles.

Then, crimp the edges with a fork.

Using a kitchen spider, carefully submerge the Fugassette in the hot oil and allow to fry until golden brown. Then flip and brown the other side.

When they are done, use your kitchen spider to remove them from the oil and lay them on a drying rack to drain. Fugassette are at their best when they are piping hot so keep them warm in the oven until you are ready to serve. Enjoy!