Archive
Caponata
Hello,
This is a vegetarian recipe typical from Italy, it’s a nice choice to eat just the caponata or to serve aside with some meat or fish; it is also great if you bring it to work in a tupper, for example with some pasta or cous-cous.
Ingredients (for 2 people):
- 2 eggplants
- 1 onion
- 5 tomatos
- A bunch of parsley
- 12 olives
- 2 tablespoon of capers
- 2 tablespoons of oregano
- Herbal vinegar
First lets cut the ingredients. Cut the eggplants in medium pieces, like splitting the eggplant in two longitudinally, and then each part cut in 4 longitudinally, and finally cut in pieces of about one finger and half width. Chop one onion. Divide the stalks and leaves of a bunch of parsley and chop them. Remove the peduncles of 5 tomatoes and cut the tomatoes not so small pieces.
Once we have the ingredients cut, let’s start cooking. Put a bit of olive oil in a pot. Add the eggplant, some salt, some ground pepper and two tablespoons of oregano (I’ve forgot this step while recording the video so I will add later), in order to avoid adding too much olive oil, stir frequently and add just a bit if needed. After five minutes add the onion, the chopped parsley stalks and 3-4 crushed garlic cloves. Stir and cook for 2 minutes and add just a bit of olive oil. Add 12 olives (or more if you like them), 2 tablespoon of capers and a bit of herbal vinegar. Cook until the vinegar evaporates and then add the tomatoes and some salt. As I’ve forgot to add oregano at the beginning I add it now mix well everything, cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes.
After this time, turn off the heat, add the chopped leaves of parsley, cover the pot again with the lid and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY.
Focaccia
Hello,
Focaccia is a typical bread in Italy served on a lot of places like a kind of fast food. At the end is similar to the pizza but using a thicker dough and less ingredients above than on a pizza. With this recipe it is really easy to prepare a tasty focaccia because there is no need to knead the dough, just mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.
The quantity of ingredients on this recipe depend on the amount of flour:
- 10% of olive oil
- 70% of water
- 1% of baker’s yeast
- 2% of salt
Ingredients:
- Flour
- Water
- Salt
- Baker’s yeast
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Basil
- Oregano
- Rosemary
First step is to weight the flour on the mold you will use later to bake the focaccia. Just cover the mold taking the flour a maximum height of about 1 to 2 centimetres (like 1 finger).
Then prepare a mix of 10% of olive oil with basil, oregano, rosemary and one garlic clove. I used a mix of olive oil and olive oil from a tin of dried tomatoes giving a nicer taste to focaccia. Process it with a mixer.
Add the flour on a big bowl, then add 1% of baker’s yeast (you will use double if it’s fresh baker’s yeast and will add later dissolved in water), mix well, add 2% of salt and mix again. Add the mix of olive oil and spices, reserving a small amount. Finally add 70% of warm water. Now just mix well the ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula without the need of kneading which makes this recipe easier.
Cover with transparent film and let rest for 1 or 2 days.
After resting give it a litte mix just to remove the gas formed during the fermentation. Paint the mold with a bit of olive oil painting the base and also the walls. Add the dough on the mold, trying to distribute all over the mold, cover with a cloth and let rest for 3-4 hours.
Then paint over the focaccia with the reserved oil and spices mix, make holes over the focaccia with a finger and if you want throw some ingredients above like for example I did with kalamata olives, you can also use onion cut on to stripes or a winner combination like tomato and fresh basil. Finally bake on the oven at 390º F (200º C) for about 20 minutes, and you have your focaccia ready.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Bread with olives
Hello,
Finally I succumbed to the temptation of making bread and I bring one possible recipe to you. Bread world is very wide and you can cook near an infinity variety of breads. I just propose one choice easy to prepare and with the nice flavor of the olives.
Ingredients (for 2 breads):
- 1 kg flour
- Baker’s yeast (5 gr of dry, or 15-20 gr of fresh)
- 100 gr olives (I chose greek olives)
- 15-20 gr salt
- 550 gr warm water
With the quantities shown on this recipe you have enough to bake 2 pieces of bread.
Add 1 kg of flour in a bowl, 5 gr of dry baker’s yeast (about 15 if baker’s yeast is fresh) and about 100 gr of olives without the bone. Add 15-20 gr of salt and mix again. Finally add 550 gr of warm water.
Now mix well on the bowl and then knead the dough on a clean surface. With the proportion of water on this recipe you don’t need any particular kneading technic, just strecht the dough, fold it, stretch and so go on for some minutes until the texture of dough becomes smooth.
Cut the dough in 2, give them a final knead to make them round, add them on a bowl with a bit of flour, cover them with transparent film and let rest at least one day.
Next day, just knead a bit each of the dough balls and give tension to them folding the ends to the center and finally shape the dough. Once you shaped the dough let them rest for about 2 hours, it would be nice if they are placed over a linen cloth and also cover with a cloth. You can place some objects at their side to avoid the dough spread widely.
Before turning on the oven, put a tray with water on it, this will generate steam which is good for getting more breadcrust, set the oven to 430 ºF (220ºC). When oven reach the temperature make an incision on the bread near end to end, and bake for 20 minutes. If your incision is not big enough you will see how your bread breaks on other sides.
After 20 minutes, remove the tray with water, reduce the temperature to 390 F (200 ºC) and bake for 35 minutes more. Once baked wait until the bread gets ambient temperature before eating it.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Recipes from Spain 