Tomato Confit In lemon Zest and Garlic

Making Tomato Confit 

Tomato Confit 

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, rinsed and patted dry   

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cloves garlic, finely minced  

Zest of 1 lemon

2 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano)

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil 

1.     Cut the tomatoes in half. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. The tomatoes must not overlap and the cut side should be upwards.

2.     In a small bowl, add and mix the sugar, minced garlic, lemon zest, and thyme leaves. Sprinkle this mix evenly on the tomatoes.

3.     Lightly sprinkle salt over each tomato slice, followed by cracked black pepper. Lastly drizzle the tomatoes with a generous amount of good extra virgin olive oil.            

4.     Bake at 225 °F for about 2 hours, or even better at 200 °F for 3 hours (low and slow).

5.     Cool and place in a glass jar with more oil to preserve for a few weeks.

These caramelized tomatoes are absolutely simple to prepare and bake at home.  They are ideal:

·       As a sauce with cooked al dente spaghetti with an extra 2-3 tablespoons of evoo

·       Served as a side dish with grilled fish or seafood

·       Baked as a tomato tarte with a few dollops of goat cheese

·       as finger food for happy hour coupled with olives and capers

·       use a few in soups and stews for flavor

·       on top of pizza

·       to make a tomato pesto 

·       Can you think of other uses?????

Homemade Focaccia with Sea Salt and Rosemary

Focaccia

3 ½ cups 00 Flour or unbleached flour

1 packet instant yeast

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt for dough, more for topping

1 1/2 cups warm (100 degree) water, plus extra as needed

Extra-virgin olive oil for the bowl

2-3 tablespoons freshly chopped rosemary

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for top of focaccia

Drizzle thick balsamic vinegar

Making the dough:

Place the flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl or use a food processor and pulse. With the machine running, add enough warm water to make soft dough that does not stick to the sides of the processor bowl; pulse for 30-45 seconds. If the dough is dry, add a little more water. When you have dough a formed, transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead 5-8 minutes until the dough bounces back at the tough using your thumb. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl; cover with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest and rise at room temperature 2-3 hours.

Baking the dough:

When you are ready to bake the focaccia, preheat the oven with a baking stone if available to 500F. It’s best to bake at the convection setting.

Drizzle a little oil on a baking sheet if you don’t have a baking stone.  Stretch the dough  on the baking sheet.  If the dough is not relaxed the dough may not stretch.  Just leave the semi-stretch dough on the baking sheet and cover again with a kitchen towel for about 30-45 minutes.  Uncover and stretch the dough again, it should stretch easily. You do not need to stretch the dough perfectly to fit the shape of the baking sheet, rustic is better!

Once the dough is stretched on the baking sheet, drizzle the olive oil all over the focaccia, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh rosemary.  Transfer the focaccia to the hot oven and bake about 15-20 minutes until the dough is golden on the bottom and lightly golden on the top. Remove from oven and baking sheet and cut into squares.  For a delicious finish, drizzle an aged or thick balsamic on top.

 

00 flour

Tip: if the dough is still a little sticky when removed from the bowl or processor, sprinkle some flour on the surface and knead the flour in. Keep repeating this process until you have supple dough. 

 

Fig Marmalade or Preserve

I love adding fig preserve on top of the focaccia when it comes out of the oven hot, and then serving it as a dessert with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Enjoy!

Leeks and Cheese Pie

Leeks and Cheese Pie

2 ready-made pie crusts

2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 large leeks, cleaned thoroughly**

Sea salt

Black pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2-3 tablespoons golden raisins

1 ½ cups shredded Gruyere or Fontina 

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

To clean the leeks, loosen the outer leaves, cut off the tough green leaves and root, on the opposite side. Open them with a sharp knife.  Cut  first, then rinse them several times. I also soak them in a large bowl of cold water for 15-20 minutes. Then I rinse them one more time.  To cook these leeks just dry them with paper towel to remove excess water before cooking. 

 

Fresh leek

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium size skillet, add the oil and leeks on medium-low heat.  Cook until the leeks are soft and barely golden.  Add the salt, pepper, and spices and combine.  Lastly combine the raisins and cook another minutes. 

Place the first pie crust on the parchment paper.  Spread the leek mixture on the pie leaving about an inch gap. Sprinkle the cheeses on top. Place the other pie crust on top. With a fork or with fingers bring the edges together to close.  Brush with egg wash and bake about 30 minutes or until the top is golden.

Leeks, golden raisins, and spices

 The leek is a tasty and versatile vegetable, a little treasure that can be used in cooking to flavor recipes in place of onion.  It is more delicate in taste.  

Alba's Pizza Demo at Westwood Unique with Fornetto Wood Fire Oven

Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens Made by Marra Forni

The ancestor of pizza is the focaccia, which was very popular in Roman times. They cooked
cakes of farro (spelt), a typical wheat often used by the Romans. In fact, the word  “farina”
(flour)  was derived from the word farro (spelt). The Romans took the farro and ground it to
powder from which the libum (flatbread) was made. It is believed that the word pizza, was
derived from the Latin word “pinsa”, past participle of the verb pinsére, which means to crush,
grind, or mash.

Pizza is one of the most widely-spread and popular dishes in the world. According to people
outside of Naples, pizza’s origins may have some not so defined theories and origin. Of course,
no one in Naples believes that. One thing is for certain for Neapolitans, and hopefully the rest
of the world,  that pizza reached its perfection in Naples.  Although today there are many different
kinds of pizza toppings, the original is the Neapolitan pizza which was created after the 18th century
when tomatoes were imported from America. Pizza making is considered a work of art, and Naples
has earned its authorship even if non-Neapolitans may be uncertain of its origin.

To make a great Neapolitan pizza, it requires a pizza artist which is called the “pizzaiolo” (pizza maker),
and “Il Forno” (the pizza oven). No pizzaiolo can create a great pizza without “Il Forno’. The first ancient
 forms of the forno  originated in ancient Egypt which were built in conical structures of brick and clay.
The ancient Greeks inherited from the Egyptians the art of building ovens and perfected the dome to
evolve to become a unique chamber.  The Romans learned from the Greeks and perfected to build ovens
which consisted of arched interior surrounded by a hollow cavity that acted as a thermal insulator.  From
ancient times until present day, there were many variations in the art of building ovens.

Today, I was lucky enough to discover a place in Beltsville, Maryland, where authentic Neapolitan pizza
ovens are imported from Naples, Italy. They are completed, customized and personalized by Marra Forni,  
for restaurants, pizza shops and even pizza affectionatos.  It was like being transported to Naples, Italy.  Friendly and  warm greetings by fellow Neapolitans, the Marra family, which are owners of Euro Gourmet and Marra Wood-Fired Pizza Oven stores.  The Marra family took time out of their busy day to give me an  impressive tour of their facilities. If that wasn’t enough, they made authentic Margherita pizza and Pizza Marinara in their luxurious wood-fire oven demo room.  What a delicious and perfect pizza it was. Visit the Marra Forni on line site on www.marraforni.com to get information about purchasing wood-fired ovens,  and www.eurogourmet.biz for their gourmet products.

Above are some pictures of the kind of pizza these Marra ovens can bake in merely 2-3 minutes. Other foods such as fish, meats, and breads can also be cooked in these ovens. For many years, I have made lots of pizzas in my cooking classes and in my home, none can compare to  the texture and taste of the pizzas made from  these ovens today.   

Focaccia with Rosemary and Grapes

2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

1 pound ready-made pizza dough                                                     
1/3 cup seedless green grapes, halved
1/3 cup seedless red grapes, halved
Coarse salt, for sprinkling
1 shallot, cut into thinly sliced rounds
2 tbsp rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped blanched almond, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Oil the entire bottom of a large baking sheet unless using parchment paper. Roll the pizza dough into a rectangle like shape about 1/2-1/3 inch thick.  It will probably not cover the entire area of the pan.  It doesn’t need to. It should look rustic and not perfect.  Place the dough on a baking sheet.

Halve the grapes.  Sprinkle the dough with coarse salt, shallot, and rosemary. Spread the grapes over the top of the dough pressing down firmly into dough.  Sprinkle with sugar and almonds.  Drizzle with of oil on top. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the dough.

The original recipe is called Schiacciata Con L’ Uva which is very popular in Italy. It is usually made with concord grapes which have lots of seeds. It’s too tedious for me to remove the seeds, so I simplified this recipe by using a store bought dough and seedless grapes.  This focaccia like bread can be served as a snack, appetizer, or even a dessert.  If I serve it as an appetizer, I drizzle a little extra oil on top.  If I serve it as a dessert, I drizzle it with a little honey.  It’s a versatile recipe that can be made with any color grape and nut.  It’s a nice dish to make or bring to any holiday party!