Focacceria Napul'e: Handmade focaccia and arancini in Athens

The first and only focacceria in Athens offers a very light handmade focaccia with 12 different fillings and four types of arancini. To find similar ones, you have to go to Italy.

Focacceria Napul'e is only a small shop but perfects the great taste of the famous Italian flatbread. It was created by Neapolitan chef (and pizzaiolo extraordinaire) Francesco Granata, owner of the Italian restaurant Napul'e in Vari, and his partner, Anna Tassioula.

In the restaurant's laboratory, the dough for this beautiful focaccia is also prepared.

It is a lighter version of the well-known focaccia from Genoa (focaccia Genovese): without oil and with very little yeast, and therefore not so puffy. It is crispy outside and fluffy inside, and takes three full days to complete its preparation.

The focaccia is baked on the floor of the small shop, cut in half and filled with 12 different fillings that mainly include famous Italian cheeses and cured meats (San Danielle prosciutto, salami with fennel from Tuscany, spiniata from Calabria, two types of mortadella, pistachio or truffle, Neapolitan salami, etc) as well as some products sourced from artisanal Italian producers.

Focaccia del Capo has a great taste, with porchetta as the main ingredient of the filling, made by the chef himself, along with roasted eggplant, olive paste and hot sauce with 'Nduja, the famous hot sausage from Calabria.

Porchetta, the delicious Italian street food which means "little pig", is a grilled roll of boneless pork with its fat and skin, with garlic, aromatic herbs and various spices. The chef-made porchetta looks all round and luscious in the display case, and it might be a good idea to make it the sole filling of this special buttery focaccia.

There is also a focaccia with a vegetarian filling that we tried, with roasted zucchinis, gorgonzola cream and tomato confit, just as libidinous and filling as its meat versions, as well as a vegan one that we left for another time.

The Sicilian arancini is a surprise and burst of deliciousness, which means little oranges because of their shape. They are round balls, traditionally made from leftover risotto and filled with mozzarella and maybe some cured meat, mince or meat breaded and fried.

Here, they are offered in four versions.

We tried the arancini Carbonara with guanciale, egg and pecorino, and we tell you it's a dream with its crispy artisanal crust, delicious filling and staccato rice. Be careful not to overlook them as they are at the very bottom of the board.

The focaccias are mostly sold as takeout, but there are also a few tables outside on the sidewalk and a bar with stools.

If you sit down, you can accompany your huge, hearty focaccia sandwiches or arancini with some premium Strange Brew beer or, while waiting for them to be cooked, order a Cafeista (Coffee Republic) coffee or even a Five Cents soda.

Info: 30 Petraki, Syntagma, 2103316161

Artemis Tzitzi is a columnist for Cantina. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.

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