Jafaican Celebration Curry Goat!

'it looks like the end

it seems like a sunset
but in reality it is a dawn
when the grave locks you up
that is when your soul is freed'
Rumi

I know it has been a while! And I guess I should be saying Happy New Islamic Year! or Happy Diwali! Rather than Eid Mubarak! But.. I guess the general theme is celebration! And in my language that means meat! (I have just landed in London... and yes. everyone is now getting ready for Christmas!)... It makes me all warm inside!

In Islam, the eating of meat became customary on Eid following the selfless sacrifice that the Prophet Ibrahim and his son made to God. (He was going sacrifice his son.) In modern day language. It does sound a little bit like child abuse (being a social worker I cant ignore that point), however, on a spiritual level, devotion to the Universe and having a greater understanding that Life does not stop here, and as beautifully as Rumi puts it 'whoever brought me here will have to take me home' - Death is a returning to God, returning to the Universe, and to your true self. So it is kind of beautiful. So much so, that Rumi referred to his death as his Wedding Night, when he would finally be reunited with his Love. I have made my peace with my my own death, and I guess it makes it easier to make peace with the death of others including animals. 

I have to say though, that it is very important to me that animals are treated well, and

have a good life, and are not killed in a way that is cruel or frightening to them. In Islam, the animals should have eaten and drank before dieing and they should not see their fellows dieing, or the knife, and they should have a good life. In London, I always bought Organic meat as I felt this was the best way to make sure that the animals were best cared for.. perhaps not in the ritualisting last 10 minutes of their life way, but throughout their life.  For those that are interested, Sheikh Nazim said that it is better to eat organic meat and pray Fatiha on it 7 times than eat Halal meat. Obviously Organic Meat standards are much higher, and being careful about what hormones, chemicals and anti-biotics you are pumping into your body is very important! Where I live, a good life for Goats (not cows or sheep, but Goats) is very easy to assure. 

So. On Eid, our choice was a Goat. I have been on the mountain where it roams, and it is lovely :) a healthy beautiful Goat. Half I shared with our neighbours and friends (I have to say I felt like Father Christmas! ... my dervish husband was disappointed with my love of celebrating Christmas so much, but I believe that anything to bring everyone together and eating is a good thing!).. Also, my childhood is full of fond memories of my dad (who wears green ALL the time).. dressed up as green father Christmas when we were children.. and we loved it! So why not! This amazing 19th Century drawing of father Christmas.. looks more akin to a dervish with a turban travelling in the cold rather than Coco-Cola front man! 

Last serious point about eating meat, is that Islamically, it was the Prophet Mohammed's way (sunnah) to eat meat once every 40 days... A world full of massive blown up overgrown and abused animals that are then grounded into McDonalds burgers (I think there may be some meat in them, though I may be wrong), gelatine, and a craze culture of burgers, chicken wings, chips - is a world away from the respectful way Muslims were taught to eat meat. 

Every 40 days means the rich should share with the poor if they cannot afford it. Every 40 days is sustainable. Every 40 days does not completely block up your digestive system. Every 40 days makes it special. So next time you have meat. Why not make it a conscious decision to have something celebratory, delicious, healthy and good for you. Something like Curry Goat :)

I know that my Jamaican friends have something to do with my Love for Curry Goat, though it must have been completely subconscious. Where I live, you wont find anything that comes close to this recipe, but I have found (and now trying to grow all of the herbs and spices bar curry.... though I might try that too!) My memories of my city (London) has what I remember delicious Jamaican shops selling (what I thought at the time, was rather expensive) but rather delicious food. Patties, Curry Goat Aki and Salt Fish and Dumplings! (If I find Aki and Salt Fish randomly at the same time then I will clearly be forced to try it out...) For Now Curry Goat is the way forward!

Jafaican Tips!

It is to note that.... I realised why Jamaican food costs so much. It is not a fast food. There is always a Jamaican Mama or Papa working behind the till that has been cooking all day long to make these delicious dishes... so they are worth every penny. Curry Goat takes 6-8 hours marinating, 3 hours cooking, and in my version, in 3 different ways... so it is worth it.. completely worth it! 

I have cooked mine partially in a pressure cooker fried and then cooking and then partially in the oven. However, you can choose to cook this not in the pressure cooker or oven, just in a stew pot. I would advise you increase the actual cooking time if you do so.

I read that having a pressure cooker reduces how much it needs to cook from 3 hours to 25 minutes. However, with the time it took to lightly fry the marinade, lightly sear the meat, get the water, meat and vegetables to the boil in the pot, getting it into full steam, and then cooling it down, it took almost 2 hours anyway. And I cooked it for a bit longer (45mins to an hour) just to make sure that this goat would be tender (goat is notoriously tough if undercooked).

I have searched LOADS of recipes, BBCGoodFood had not one but two, there was the CookLikeaJamaican classic and CarribeanPot. I have brought them all together and tried to make what I believe is the most authentic version of a non-Jamaican mama can make (hence the homer picture!)... I have to say, I was not disappointed. For old times sakes I will call this the Jafaican (Pronounced Ja-Fake-An) Curry Goat! (Much more comical if you try and put on the Jafaican Accent)

As I pointed out in the  Jerk Chicken recipe, I am not a fan of rice and peas or kidney beans, it does nothing for me... so instead I made Basmati Rice, nice and simple with bay leave, a couple of cloves and one cardamom. Delicious :)

If you don't have all of the marinade ingredients... in perfect  quantities its fine! I think Curry is the main spice, then all the others can appear and disappear in different quantities... I have actively chosen not to put in scotch bonnet in as I highlighted in my Jerk Chicken I am scared of it. My Curry Goat turned out spicy enough for my taste without chilli - but feel free to add chilli to your taste. I will add no directions for adding chilli as I am an amateur at this and do not want to burn your tongues!

Jafaican Curry Goat

Recipe

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

1 kg of goat or 3 lbs or just over with or without bones

4 tbsp mild curry powder

1 tbsp ground all spice

1 tsp ginger

2 large onions

1 tbsp Thyme

2 tsp Corriander dry

2 tbsp fresh Corriander

7-10 cloves of minced garlic

black pepper

salt

For the cooking:

1 tin of tomatoes

1500ml stock

2 large potatoes

2 Onions

1 heaped tbsp all purpose flour

For Serving:

Your choice of rice

Roti/Naan

Direction:

1. Chop onion into cubes and crush the garlic. Add all other Marinade ingredients to taste. 
2. Marinade the chunks of meat, covering the meat well, then cover and place in fridge overnight.
3. The next day, peel and chop the potatoes. 
4. Take the marinated meat out of the fridge and take off the extra marinade from the meat. 
5. Fry the marinade in a little olive oil in the pressure cooker
6. Add the meat and sear it
7. Add the stock, tin of tomatoes and potatoes
8. Bring the whole pot to very hot bubbling, and taste, add a little more salt and pepper if you think it needs it make sure the meat and potatoes are covered in water
9. Close the pressure cooker, bringing it to full steam for 45 mins
10. Take the pressure off on slow release.
11. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 or 6
12. Move the potatoes and meat into a deep oven tray, ensuring they are bathed in enough juices to keep the meat juicy (at least 2cm in the tray) leaving  the rest in the pressure cooker pot (you can taste the meat now, it will be cooked but not tender - add some salt and pepper if needed) 
13. Cover the potatoes and meat well with silver foil and place in the oven for 1 hour then switch off the oven.
14. In the meantime, take the sauce left in the pressure cooker and put it in a saucepan on a medium heat 
15. Slice 2 onions into rounds and place in the saucepan and cook until soft 
16. Take a little sauce and mix with 1 heaped tbsp of all purpose flour and then reintroduce it slowly into the saucepan.
17. If this creates clumps (as it did with mine!) then wizz them away with a hand blender. This creates a lovely thick curry sauce. Take the sauce off the heat until 10 minutes before serving, and reheat it.
18. Make your rice (I made basmati)
19. 1/2 hour before serving, take the meat out of the oven, and uncover it checking there is enough sauce still in there, if not, add a little water and sauce, 
20. Cook the meat for a further 25 minutes on Gas Mark 6, reheat the rice (i put it in a terracotta pot and put it in the oven) and Sauce
21. Serve with Love!

My Divinely Crisp Jerk Chicken

'This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor

Welcome and entertain them all!'

Rumi

'Were you cooking curry the other day?'

'No.. no.. curry..'

'Its just that there was this smell coming from your house..'

'Oh... you mean the jerk chicken!'

'Must Be! It Smelled So Good!'

'I'll send you round some of the extra marinade! It was Divine!' 

(It really was!)

Turns out my wonderful neighbour (yes, the same one that drops countless amounts of food at my door) may have been slightly disappointed the morning after I had guests when I sent round some baked hummus that I had extra of rather than whatever the amazing curry smell was. Truth is, all the delicious flavours were completely devoured and there was none left for sharing. So. I have decided to share this wonderful recipe. (And also given her the extra marinade)! 

Nigella was very forgiving in her write up, highlighting that hers could never come anywhere near close to meeting the requirements for real Jamaican Jerk Chicken... Which is fair to say, and more than ever my changes to this recipe (or thousands of recipe's that I found) have perhaps rendered it slightly unrecognisable to any Jamaican (you will see what I mean in a bit...) 

Its true, my garden is far too small to have this epic corregated metal barbecue, green woods that protect and add flavour to the chicken. I know what street Jerk Chicken Tastes like... and it is amazing. A feast for your tongue full of amazing sizzling flavours. I had to start finding recipes.... that eventually I had to adapt.

To my own surprise instead of regular English Roast Chicken (which is equally as delicious, but with honourable guests visiting, just wasn't exciting enough... in my head)... I found myself on the WikiHow page to Jerk?!?! Shock horror! How did that happen?

Anyway... turns out it had the simplest most straight forward recipe that I could use and also adapt as I found other recipes such as Nigella's version, or advice from Serious Eats, understanding that I could never get this perfect, and Jerk Chicken is probably akin to Tai Chi for the Chinese.. every family has their own recipe that comes down from a long line of secret ancestors that sacrificed their Warrior blood to keep the Truth hidden. 

I was lucky enough to have a housemate that regularly made Jerk Chicken (As well as many other friends), ... we can pretend these are my ancestors... though I never stuck around long enough to learn the recipe.. 

As an amateur this is the first time I am EVER using Allspice. I never knew it came from a berry! Kind of Epic for a novice ;)

So I thought, time to make my own :)

Are you ready?

Spicy Tips!

 My adaptations to the recipe as I find it the easiest way to remember that; we don't always have everything at hand, everything can be done slightly differently, and there are some things, that just can never be left out!

All of the recipe's indicated that this should be eaten with Rice and Peas.. and yet (shock horror again...) I am really not a fan of Rice and Peas.. or Kidney beans at the moment so... This wonderful dish was served with the Amazing Focaccia Bread, Freshly baked Hummus, Lebne, Yogurt, Beetroot Salad and a whole lotta love! (I had made some basmati rice just in case there wasn't enough food... but it was just right!) I have to say there was a bit of Italy, Turkey Jamaica, France, Germany either on the table or sat round the table... delicious! and what wonderful company! 

My Confession, that goes against all Jerk Chicken recipes has to do with this wonderful yellow (green or red) baby. Scotch Bonnet. 

I have a fear of it. And for my wonderful benefit, it doesn't grow anywhere near me, or is sold anywhere near here.. so I had to go to the next best thing - Cayenne Pepper.. that I recognise and know how to distribute in food. One day, I will be able to use the Scotch Bonnet, just not right now!

- If you can Barbeque this recipe, the added smoky flavour will further bring this to life, but as I haven't done it myself on the BBQ, this recipe uses the traditional cooking instructions for a perfect Roast Chicken.. the meat turns out tender and crispy.. YUM!

- The Longer you Marinate this baby for, the better! I did mine for 5 hours, some say overnight. 

- This Marinade can be kept in your fridge for a Long time, so if you don't use it all (I didn't use all of mine), you can put it in a container and keep it there until the next time (or give it to your neighbour!)

- I had to warn my guests that the chicken does in fact look burnt! But isnt... (The Dervish has now finally gotten used to my experiments such as the Burning Sweet Heart Apple Cake) so he chuckled nervously infront of our guests... only to end up with a stomach later for having devoured too much!

- I also added Worcester Sauce to this recipe - remembering how, when in Mexico, they would add this t

o the meat to give it a delicious sweet tang YUM. However, I would say that it is optional.

- I would recommend letting yourself be flexible with this recipe... if you like more ginger... go for it! If you cant stand chilli, or want more, then go ahead! Why not! It will turn out delicious anyhow... believe me!

- Some recipe's called for ground cloves (which I completely agree will add delicious flavour to this) so I have added it on the ingredients list.. but again is optional.. and I cant vouch for how it tastes!

- Some recommend using chicken breast for this recipe... I perhaps would vouch more for wings, thighs legs etc... however, I am sure than any, or a mix of these would also be fine.

- Used an invented combination of Jamie's Method amongst others for roasting the Perfect Chicken to get the meat just right... other ways are BBQ, grilling (if you dont have an oven or a grill, my neighbour is trying out in a frying pan....) but I have to say, Jamie's temperature and timing was almost spot on even though I was making wings and thighs instead of a full chicken. I combined this with an idea to lock up all the juices in tin Foil and then open it up to crisp on the outer shell for the second bit... This worked a treat and I will be using it over and over again...

- Serve with lemons or lime to add some tang!

Divinely Crisp Jerk Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Ground Allspice (Pimento berry)

1/2 Cup+ Brown Sugar

6-8 Crushed Garlic Cloves

2-3 Scotch Bonnet Peppers (I replaced this with a comfortable amount of Cayenne Pepper - 1/2 tsp)

2 Onions (or 2 bunches of green onions)
2 tbsp Thyme Leaves

2 tsp Cinammon

1 tsp Nutmeg

2 tsp Ginger

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 tbsp Soy Sauce to Moisten

2 tbsp Worcester Sauce

2-4 Cloves (optional)
4 tbsp Olive oil or Butter
2 cups of chicken stock
Lemons to garnish and serve

1 kg of Chicken Wigs, thighs and legs

Method:

1. Place the allspice, brown sugar, garlic, pepper, thyme, onion, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt and pepper, soy sauce and Worcester Sauce, Olive Oil or butter in a food processor and pulse until smooth. 
2. Rub the chicken (this can also be used with beef, tuna or Salmon) with the marinade. Make sure you rub under the skin and in the cavities. 
3.  Marinate between 2 hours and overnight.. the more the better
4. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 8, while preparing your other bits (I was busy with the focaccia, hummus, etc) .. I would say roughly for around 15 minutes
5. Put tin foil on the underside of a deep baking tray making sure that there is at least 1 inch of foil covering each edge.
6. Place the chicken on the foil, and pour the steaming stock around it.
7. Cover the chicken with more foil, this time folding the foil together, creating an air tight vacuum for the chicken to cook in
8. Place the chicken in the oven and reduce to Gas Mark 7 for 1 hour, 
9. After an hour, take foil off the chicken, and baste it
10. Put the chicken back in the oven uncovered and bake for a further 35 minutes until crispy
11. Transfer the chicken onto a serving plate and devour!

Yum!

Remember to serve it with Love!

The Zucchini and the Great Unknown Marrow Soup

'Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, 

Not Hindu,Buddhist, Sufi or Zen, 

Not Any religion.

Or cultural System. I am not

From the East or the West, 

Not out of the Ocean or up from the Ground...

I belong to the Beloved'

Rumi

You see, most people can just walk into Tesco, or shop online (mine used to be Abel and Cole) at the large variety of different vegetables available, choose carefully which ones they want or like, remember those recommendations from friends. Even Tesco express would do. It doesn't have to be large. A corner shop even? They would almost always have some form of fresh ginger or seasonal vegetable that you can choose. 

I guess the interesting thing about living in a village, rather than London. And in the middle of the Mediterranean instead of the British Isles, (where I live is considered occupied territory, only recognised officially by two countries (one is Pakistan, and the other holds an almost identical flag) thus resulting in branded products not being sold here... or anything of any real quality) is that somehow I manage to get a large proportion (considering) of my fruit and veg from the street. I don't mean a bustling market with delicious smells and you get the picture.... I mean, lying on the road, fallen off a truck. 

I have to say I find this delightful - some of my most delicious recipes (See Plum Compote) have resulted from this. Others a stroke of luck (yesterday I got 10 apples this way, oh, and a lemon also...)...I will be baking more Apple Cake (or crumble) very soon! 

Obviously, there are other ways that vegetables make their way into my fridge.. This is mainly through some form of donation from the wonderful neighbours I have. And yes, I do talk to them! and know their names... well the English Speaking ones anyway :/ Huge bags of vegetables waiting for me. Some might be a little squashed. Some perfect. Some needed some immediate de-insecting, and some I find a little hard to cook. Namely what the British neighbours I have been spending time with, have referred to as 'the non- specific marrow' and what is known to me as the great unknown.... (Its accompanied with a form of screwed up face indicating that they also have come to the same dilemma as me and have no clue how to make this vegetable tasty or delicious, therefore just resulting in a waste of time)... however, we cant waste!

Unfortunately, Non-specific Marrow does not sound exciting at all! (now rebranded the Great Unknown for my own sake) I was much more pleased when another neighbour called it a squash, only to open it up and find the seeds were part of the vegetable (Like zucchini). Anyway... My most major disappointment was the fact that neither Jamie Oliver (at some point I will just call him Jamie, this second name thing is a little ridiculous ;p) neither BBC Good Food (who apparently as of yesterday consider this side of occupied territory 'the Middle East' and wont let me into the UK site thus barring from all of those recipes!), nor Sheikh Google could provide me with a recipe that had 5 stars and the work 'MARROW' next to it. Just doesn't work. 

Anyway, my search continued and I found this recipe (yes, I know the photos on the website are really bad!). I decided to completely ignore the use of Squash, and replace it with the Great Unknown Marrow... and here's the wonderful thing. It tasted so good, I had to call my dervish of a husband and let him know how delicious it was... (it doesn't happen often!). I have decided it is much like the story of the milk and the yogurt... all they have to do is sit in a pot together and somehow magic happens!

 To be honest I was a little bowled over by how easy, quick and delicious this soup is. A Definite Five Stars. No doubt. You have to try it! 

Yum All the way!

Housewife Tips!

- I thought 3 cups of cream was RIDICULOUS... the aim of eating vegetables is not to gain weight.. its to have something delicious. So I have reduced this to 1 1/2 cups of milk fresh from the cows (that's where I get my other stuff from ;)

- Of course, I am sure that squash would be completely delicious in this recipe (so go ahead), and I can only say how jealous I am (anyone that has access to online shopping, corner shops and squash). However, Non-Specific Marrow now has a purpose, and a delicious soup to go with it! 

- I dont know the difference between shallots and onions, so I combined them..

- I decided to cut the zucchini and non-specific marrow into 1-2cm squares rather than rounds.. rounds just looked a bit tacky for me. This also increases the cup sizes (how do you fit a cube in a cup?) So... instead of 1 1/2 cups, I used 2.

- Roasting these vegetables first is an amazing way of increasing the flavour (I roasted them for 30 minutes, already cubed with whole garlic)

- Serve with homemade yogurt, lebne, or parmesan cheese and some delicious warm bread <3

The Zucchini and the Great Unknown Marrow Soup

Ingredients 

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 medium zucchini, cubed about 2 cups
1 non-specific marrow about 2 cups (or squash)
3 cups rich chicken broth (preferably homemade)
1 1/2 cups full fat fresh milk
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano (I used dry)
salt & freshly ground black pepper

If roasting: Extra Olive oil

Directions:

If roasting start here:

1. Preheat the Oven to gas mark 7
2. Cut Onion, Marrow and Zucchini into 2cm cubed pieces, place in a baking tray with whole pieces of garlic (still with the skin on) and drizzle 3-4 tbsp olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
3.  Cover with tin foil.  
4. Place vegetables in preheated oven and roast for 30 minutes
5. When finished put the baking tray to one side and use the roast vegetables as they appear in the following directions.

From oven roasted (or raw) to soup-tastic:

1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add onion and sliced garlic and cook until onion is translucent,stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes if not roasted.
3. Add flour and stir 3 minutes
4. Add zucchini and non-specific Marrow and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in stock, milk, basil and oregano.
6. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes (this will only need 5 or 10 minutes if the vegetables were already roasted).
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
8. Devour!

Serve it with 

Love!

A Basket Full of Focaccia Delights!

'There is a basket of fresh bread on your head,

yet you go door to door asking for crust

Knock on the inner door, no other.'

Rumi

Possibly originating from the ancient Greeks (which may be why this is divine), and devoured across the Mediterranean as well as Argentina (which is almost Europe really!) This focaccia bread is the first, and now my favourite of all the breads; super easy, super delicious, and extremely moreish! 

I completely recommend it to anyone trying something new... 

Jamie's Focaccia

I have to admit... I have a whole list of recipe's just waiting for the right time to be completed. As it turns out I am quite the workaholic in the kitchen, so, the list includes Gnocchi, My First Ever Jerk Chicken, Simple and Delicious Zucchini Soup, the Amazing Pizza's amongst others.... But last night amongst the candle light dinner we shared with some good friends, Focaccia bread not only dazzled the guests, but their tastebuds too ;)

You see, that despite making a delicious bread every couple of days, I wanted to make something special for our guests... I have to thank Jamie Oliver for this recipe. I have to be honest, there was no way I thought that my bread would turn out as delicious and sumptuous as his one. This is his photo (Left). I have this here to provide a comparison!

My Focaccia

I served this as a starter... (what I thought was a starter then it turned out to be one big delicious medly) a small piece of each part on everyone's plates... scattered on the table was baked hummus (I have updates some of the photos on this blog so you can see how it rises!), lebne and fresh yogurt, homemade beetroot Salad (simple boiled beetroot with Lemon and Salt) and cucumbers... Fresh from the oven Potato Wedges and finally once there was was a little room on people's plates, we passed round Jerk Chicken... A winner all over! (I cant forget my unburnt apple cake.. yes.. I mean.. unburnt. Update of how not to burn your cake is now available!)

This bread was devoured and gave the dinner the extra little punch of flavour it needed to blend the vast array of dips, sauces, salads, sides and mains together. Yum!

Crumbs! Tips!

The Missing Ingredients

I knew I wasn't going to have goats cheese at hand or any other fancy cheese (apart from Parmesan of course... I could perhaps die an early death without parmesan in the kitchen... the dervish would never understand!)... So... instead I replaced the cheeses with local handmade Halloumi (cut into rectangles and poked into the dough), and homemade thick Lebne yogurt that had been hanging for two days instead of one (creamed and blobbed on), and had a delicious pungent blue cheese esk taste and smell... Yum! 

I also had no access to any cherry tomatoes... so I just used regular tomatoes.. I should say though, these are fully in season at the moment, and so were full of delicious taste.. which you may not get if you buy regular tomatoes from say ASDA or Tesco... you would have to go for 'Finest'. I would recommend only getting what's local and in Season... God's way of saying 'Its good for you!'

Also, because I just couldn't be bothered to walk to the top of the hill (to be fair it would have been 40 minutes there and back...) I used dry rosemary instead of fresh sprigs...

Jamie says, this serves 10.... well. I am not so sure! Out of the 24 squares I cut this into... only 5 were left, and there were 5 people at the table! The 5 that are left are my little present to myself and I will be having them with some lentil soup this evening! I would say this Serves 5 People comfortably, 6 at a stretch also.. When you have guests... it is well worth making this bread as a complete replacement for normal bread... (double or triple the quantity if necessary if you have a large party of people) It takes less rising time, a tiny little bit more actual hands on cooking, but its so delicious it makes it all worth it!

- Don't get scared by the long list of ingredients... most are readily available in any kitchen!

- I do not have semolina flour and have used normal plan flour instead - as I do with my normal bread and this is still delicious

- I shaved the parmesan rather than grated it, and this created a wonderful later of it all over the cheesy side! Yum 

- This is a great recipe for experimenting with toppings... especially the three cheeses... go on! You know you want to!

- To kill two birds with one stone, I doubled the flour recipe, and used one half for the focaccia, and the other half to make regular white bread (I simply followed the direction notes on rising and baking for regular white bread... using this recipe for the dough)...

Happy Cooking!

Focaccia Delights!

Ingredients:

For the dough

500g strong white bread flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 tbsp Sea Salt, 

1 Sachet of Dried Yeast

1/2 tbsp Caster Sugar

300ml Lukewarm Water

3 tbsp Olive Oil

For the Balsamic Onion Topping

2 tbsp Olive Oil, 

2 Red Onions finely Slices, 

Thyme (I used dry, if there is fresh, then great)

6 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

For the Basil and Tomato Topping

1 Bunch of Fresh Basil

1 large handful of ripe cherry tomatoes halved or 3-4 ripe tomatoes sliced

Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Olive Oil

White Wine Vinegar (I used apple)

2 Cloves of Garlic Peeled and Sliced (crushed)

For the three-cheese and rosemary topping

40g Halloumi Cheese cut into rectangular rods

40g Thick Lebne 

30g Parmesan shaved into thin slices

Fresh or dry Rosemary

Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl or on an Italian board. 
2. Make a well in the centre, then add the oil and water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water, mix well.
3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for around 5 minutes 
4. Once the dough is satin-smooth, place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Leave to rise for 30 minutes until doubled in size.
   
5. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 and prepare the toppings
6. For the balsamic onion topping, fry the sliced onions and thyme leaves in 2 tbsp of olice oil over a low heat for about 5 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar, reduce for a minute or two, then leave to cool.
7.  For the basil and tomato topping, roughly chop the basil leaves and put them in a bowl with the sliced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, a little olive oil and apple or white wine vinegar, add the garlic and mix together (by hand is fine, I also squeezed the tomatoes a little to get the juices out
8.  As soon as the dough has risen, pound it, then place it on a baking tray (I put grease proof paper on mine) and spread it out to cover the tray (my tray was around 12x8 inches.. a little larger, or a little sma
   ller is also fine for this quantity). Push down roughly on top of the dough and prod your fingers in it creating little dips and wells. 
9. Divide the onion and the tomato topping over two thirds of the focaccia. On the last third, poke the halloumi into the dough, smear on some delicious tangy lebne, and sprinkle on a generous amount of parmesan (or three cheeses of your choice!) Add the rosemary and season with salt and pepper
10. Leave the dough to rise for a further 20 minutes
11. Bake the focaccia for 20 minutes until Golden on top and soft in the middle (It also ends up being crispy underneath if the tray is lined with Olive Oil... mine always is!
12. Devour!! (or cut into 24 even slices ready for your guests when they arrive!)

Serve it with Love!