Happy holiday weekend! I hope the weather doesn't keep you down. This email was supposed to go out earlier this week and I had a completely different recipe line-up for you, but then I got hit by the stomach bug. Stomach bugs have a funny way of changing your tastes, so here I am writing about my comfort foods. My summer time comfort foods, actually. I'm jumping the gun here, as the following Ratatouille recipe contains all of late summer's bounty. But this is what I want, and I assure you that after you make it, it will be all that you want as well. And the Focaccia! Oh, this Focaccia! Sweetly caramelized whole garlic cloves transform this bread into nothing you've had before...
But! Business first. Oh my oil! We are having a summer blowout sale on all of our Southern Hemisphere oils. That means 50% off our Arbosana and Picual (mild), Coratina and Leccino (medium), and Koroneiki and Pendolino (Robust). The recipes below use a good bit of olive oil and any one of these guys would be fantastic. They are all Ultra Premium and this price is too good to pass up. Come and get them!
The reason for the above sale is that the next round of olive harvests is about to occur beginning of June, so we will get in all new oils this summer. Woohoo! Also, we just ordered a new Alfoos Mango White Balsamic that will be here next week. We're pretty excited. And (drum roll, please) we now have two new Charlito's salamis for you! There's an amazing Trufa Seca (Dry Truffle Sausage) and a Campo Seco (Dry Cured Country Style Sausage). Flavor explosions all over the place around here.
As you may have noticed, we do not yet have a working website. That's my fault. I thought I could do it all by myself. ("You think you can do these things, but you can't, Nemo!") I almost had it finished and something somewhere crashed and I lost it all, and I've been too disheartened to try again. So if any of you fine people know of someone savvier than myself who can build a website, send them my way. I will say that I took the crash much better than I would have expected (pat, pat on the back). That may have been because my mind went comically blank and I couldn't even think of witty curses at the time. Eh. On to the food. Please forgive my lack of photos this go-round. There is not really a good way to make Ratatouille beautiful.
The Focaccia you have tried from a grocery store has nothing on this bread. It is an incredible experience to dip this Focaccia in a dish of Traditional Balsamic and eat an entire pan of it by yourself. It feels like you've mastered the universe somehow. It takes some planning ahead, but the ingredients are very simple. Flour, yeast, water, pinch of salt and sugar, olive oil, and rosemary have never been so delicious. Add in the Caramelized Garlic and it's heaven. That Caramelized Garlic came into my life when I opened the February issue of Bon Appetit and it was featured in a cheddar and kale quiche. Make this garlic and put it in everything, especially the Focaccia. And come get your Half-Priced oil from us because high quality olive oils make these dishes into something amazing.
Caramelized Garlic Focaccia
Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible
Mixing time: 25 minutes
Rising time: 5-6 hours
Oven Temp: 475 degrees
Baking time: 13 minutes
2 3/4 c. (13.6 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 tsp. instant yeast
2 c. minus 2 Tbsp. (15.5 oz) water, room temp.
3/4 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp., divided, olive oil
1 batch caramelized garlic, recipe below
2 tsp. fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1. In a mixer bowl, using the paddle attachment, combine the flour and yeast. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the water, mixing just until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. It will be very soupy. Increase the speed to medium and beat the living daylights out of this dough, until it is a smooth, shiny ball, about 20 minutes. No kidding. 20 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and beat until they are well incorporated, about 3 minutes.
2. Using an oiled spatula, scrape the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl. The dough will look like melted mozzarella. Lightly oil the top of the dough. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 4 hours, or at least until doubled.
3. Coat a sheet pan with a heaping Tbsp. of olive oil. Pour the dough onto it - it will be thin enough to pour but very stretchy. Coat your hands with olive oil and spread the dough as thin as possible without tearing it. Let it relax for 10 minutes, then spread it to fill almost the entire sheet, trying to maintain the bubbles in the dough. (If adding the garlic, make about 32 evenly spaced depressions in the dough with your fingertips and gently press a garlic clove into each one. The dough will rise and enclose the garlic to prevent excess browning during baking. Cover the dough with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled its original volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 475 one hour before baking. Have an oven rack at the lowest level and put a baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating.
5. Uncover the dough and evenly drizzle the remaining olive oil on top of it. With oiled fingers, deeply dimple the dough. Sprinkle on the rosemary (optional) and salt. Place the pan directly on the hot stone or hot baking sheet and bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle on a bit more oil, if desired. Serve immediately.
Caramelized Garlic
Adapted from Bon Appetit Feb. 2015 issue
3 heads garlic, cloves peeled
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Traditional balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1. Cook the garlic in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Drain.
2. Wipe saucepan dry and heat olive oil over medium-high. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until cloves start to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Add balsamic and 1 c, water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until garlic is very tender, 10-12 minutes. Add maple syrup, rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is syrupy and coats garlic, about 5 minutes.
Use in focaccia, quiches, pizza, or paninis. Or this next Ratatouille
Ratatouille
Adapted from Saveur
1/2 c. olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 large yellow onions, quartered
2 medium zucchini, cut into 2" pieces
1 medium eggplant, cut into 2" pieces
1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and quartered
2 large cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven add oregano, basil, garlic, bay leaf, garlic and onions; cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
2. Stir in zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes and salt and pepper. Turn off burner, transfer pot to oven, and bake uncovered for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
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| Jess Gallegos' fine photos. |
Oh yeah! And our last Happy Hour/Art Reception was great. Thanks to all who came out to and to Kyya Chocolates for doing a tasting with us. We'll let you know when the next one is coming up.
Cheers, guys!
Andrea
