Focaccia caprese / Rosemary and onion focaccia

Focaccia is the bread, I always wanted to make since I started baking. It is said to be a very easy one, and one of the very first bread, you should try when you start learning bread baking. I am learning to bake a bread a month, since I joined +Aparna Balasubramanian 's bread baking group and this is the bread we are baking in January 2014. Focaccia is kind of a flat bread which originated in Greece, though it is made in different ways in different parts of Italy. There is even a sweet version.

Focaccia Caprese

Rosemary and Onion focaccia

It looks similar to a pizza, some of the differences are that focaccia is usually has a thicker and more spongier crust and pizza has a thinner and crispier one. Focaccia is usually topped with herbs, oil and garlic and pizza has different toppings. Focaccia is served warm or at room temperature and pizza is generally served hot, right off the oven... well, that's the trivia and more about it here.....:)

I made Focaccia Caprese, a version of focaccia made in the Capri region of Italy. The toppings used for this version of focaccia are tomatoes, fresh basil and buffalo mozzarella cheese. I also had some fresh rosemary leaves, so I made another one with the topping of herbed oil, rosemary and onions. Both, versions of bread were very tasty and were gobbled down by all of us in matter of minutes. I served it with "Couscous and chickpea salad" and it was a wonderful meal. Recipe adapted from "The kitchen whisperer" 

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp of sugar
• 3 and 1/2 cups of bread flour(I used regular all purpose flour)
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 to 1 and 1/2 cup warm water
• A little more olive oil to knead and brush on the dough (1-3 tsps)

For the herbed oil:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp of mixed dried italian herbs like dried basil, oregano, etc
• 3-4 garlic cloves grated
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the topping:

• 2 tomatoes cut in thin slices
• buffalo mozzarella cheese cut to disks(I used the regular mozzarella)
• fresh basil leaves to garnish
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 onion cut to discs, or chopped to thin long slices and separated.

Recipe:

• Grate the garlic and whisk all the ingredients for herbed oil together and keep it aside.

• You can make the dough with hand or by machine.
• Take the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and oil in a food processor or a large bowl.

• Mix them well, with hands or a whizz in the machine for about 30-40 seconds.
• Add water and continue mixing, till it comes together as a non sticky dough.
• Take it out in a well oiled bowl and knead with hands for about 2-3 minutes till it comes together as a smooth ball of dough. 

• Keep it aside, covered with a plastic wrap or kitchen towel till it doubles up in volume. It will take about an hour or hour and half.

• I used a rectangular pan 22 cm by 18 cm and a square pan with 20 cm sides.
• Divide the dough according to the size of the pan u use. I divided the dough in 3 parts.

• Oil the pan and stretch the dough by patting it. Top with a tsp of olive oil and keep it to rise for another 20-30 minutes.

• Make some dents/dimples on the surface of the dough with your finger and pour about 2-3 tsp of herbed oil on top of the dough.

• Bake it for 18-20 minutes in a preheated oven at 210 degrees centigrade.

• Take the focaccia out when the top is golden.

• Get the ingredients ready for topping. Slice tomatoes and cheese to thin slices. Wash and clean the basil and rosemary. Chop the onions.

• Layer mozzarella slices, tomatoes, rosemary and onions and top with more herbed oil. 

• Increase the oven temperature to 230 degrees and bake for another 5 minutes till the mozzarella is melted and the top is golden brown.

• Serve cut into slices or squares warm or at room temperature.

Quantity:

• about 3 focaccia breads... 2 of 22cm*18cm and 1 square pan size of 20 cm.
• serves 4 people along with a side comfortably.

Notes:

• You can make 4 small individual serving breads. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions are roll them(press them) to 5 by 7 inch ovals.
• Cut them out in squares or slices for easy "pick me up" snack.

FALL Sandwich ....

I named this sandwich, with this unusual name, when I saw it on a blog here.... Melinda has a beautiful blog, I found many  interesting recipes and this is one of them. I love pumpkin, and it symbolises the Autumn season for most of the northern hemisphere. Though, pumpkin is available here, most of the year, in October the "blogosphere" is full of pumpkin recipes ...:) Usually, I make a yogurt based pumpkin salad(raita), or a soup or use it-- for bread/cake, etc.  I loved this recipe, as it is so unusual and yet so simple. It was delicious too. 

In the original recipe, the author has baked the pumpkin, in an oven, for about an hour, which will definitely give it a lovely flavor. But, I chose the easier and faster way-- I cooked the pumpkin, in a pressure cooker. 

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of whole wheat/multi-grain or white bread (or any other kind you prefer)
• 1 red/green apple
• 4-6 salad leaves (lettuce/baby spinach/rocket leaves or any other kind you like)
• about 4 tbsp of pumpkin puree (made fresh)
• 2 tbsps of cheddar cheese
• a few drops of olive oil (or butter)

Recipe:

• I usually buy sliced pumpkin which is sold in supermarkets here, wrapped in cling wrap around 150 gms or so. Wash the pumpkin thoroughly and keep it whole, in a pressure cooker container -- skin, seeds and all.
• Pressure cook it for 4-5 whistles. Let the cooker cool. 
• Once the pumpkin is a bit cool to handle, remove the skin and the seeds. Take out the pumpkin flesh and give it a whizz in the blender for 30-60 seconds to get a fine puree. 
• Keep it aside. I didn't photograph this step. I made a puree a night before thinking, I would make the usual soup....:)
• Rest is simple.

• Heat a pan. Grease it with olive oil. Take two slices of bread. Butter it on one side(optional-- I omitted this step). Spread about a tbsp of pumpkin puree on the other side. Place it puree side up on the pan.

• Place salad leaves.

• Slice an apple thinly, arrange the slices on the salad leaves. 

• Grate a tbsp of cheddar cheese on top, or you can also place a cheddar cheese slice.

• More puree on the other slice of bread, and put the bread on top. 

• Grill/Pan fry it on both sides for 1-2 minutes, till the cheese is melted.

• Enjoy it, "hot" off the grill and imagine you are in a nice chilly place with colourful fall trees around you. (Unless, you already live in such a place) .... :)

Quantity:

• 2 sandwiches(serves 1 or 2)

Notes:

• If you use a grill pan, you will get nice grill marks on the sandwich.
• Roast the pumpkin in the oven, to get a different flavor.
• More cheese, than just a tablespoon will make it tastier :) 

Spinach and corn

My mom had made this side dish for chapati, when she visited me and I had liked it a lot. So, now I make it every now and then.... very fast to cook as most of my recipes on this blog. I like spinach with mustard oil, so I have used it, however, it can be made with any oil that you regularly use in your kitchen -- vegetable/corn/canola or even olive oil.

Ingredients:

• A large bunch of spinach
• 2/3 cloves garlic
• 1 chili
• 1 tsp each of coriander, cumin powder and cumin seeds 
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp mustard oil
• 1 small red onion (optional)
• 1 cup of fresh or frozen sweet corn
• Sliced ginger/dollop of butter or cream/lemon wedges to garnish

Recipe:

• Remove the thick stalks of the spinach. Wash the leaves and leave them in a colander to dry (Let most of the liquid be drained out)

• Microwave the clean spinach leaves in a glass or microwave safe bowl for 3-4 minutes till they are wilted. (Alternatively, you can boil a pot of water, blanch the leaves for 1-2 minutes and immediately put them in ice cold water for a minute and take them out)

• Grind the spinach to a puree in a blender or a food processor. Keep it aside.

• Heat mustard oil in a pan. 

• Add cumin seeds and turmeric. 
• Once the cumin crackles, add chopped onion, grated garlic and chopped chili.

• Saute till the onion is translucent for about a minute or two, then add the powdered spices.

• Add corn. Saute for another minute or two.

• Add spinach puree. Cook for another minute. 

• Add about 1/4 -1/3 cup of water to make the gravy thin, if needed.

• Serve hot with parathas or chapatis.
• Can garnish with matchstick ginger/butter/cream or just a lemon wedge (as I have done)

Quantity:

• 3-4 servings, as a side with chapati/salad/rice, etc

Notes:

• If you are boiling/blanching spinach, do it for a short time, 2 minutes or so, no more.
• Also, after adding spinach puree, cook on medium for 1-2 minutes no more.