Spring Garlic, Onion, and Asparagus Focaccia
Dinner Diaries
Eric and I have been spending A LOT of time in the garden. I think we both are afraid that winter is going to come back next week and we’re trying to make the most of our outside time and building as much of the garden as we can… while we can. So, needless to say, I haven’t been spending as much time at my computer and I also haven’t been feeling in the mood to cook involved dinners. Last night was no exception. Our farmer’s markets are back, which is absolutely thrilling and last Thursday I trekked over to Tahoe City to stock up on the delights of the season, which of course involved a fair amount of spring onion, green garlic, and asparagus!
First, I made my old tried and true rye-based focaccia. I’ve been baking this for so many years now that I always eye-ball the amounts, a true no-no in the laws of baking, but it always turns out, so oh well! 2 tsp yeast to about 3/4 c warm water and a half cup of rye. Mix that and then add about 3 c APF, a pinch of salt, and enough warm water to make a dough ball that’s wet enough to hold together and not stick to the walls of the bowl, but not so dry that you have a shaggy mess that won’t held together. Probably about 1/2 - 3/4 c. I do this in the stand mizer with a dough hook and once a little ball is there that springs back after I push on it with a finger, I cover it and let it double in size somewhere warm.
In the meantime, I set a ball fresh mozzarella aside, cut 1” pieces of asparagus and coated them in EVOO, 1 spring onion bulb that I coated in EVOO and a pinch of salt, and made a green garlic base “sauce” by putting a green garlic bulb sliced into small pieces into a mortar & pestle with a pinch of salt and about 1/2 c EVOO and mashed it all together to make a paste-y oil thingy. It was really delicious!
Once the dough had risen by two (about an hour), I generously coated a 12'“ sheet pan with olive oil, put the dough into it, spread it out with my fingertips so it just about reached every corner and side. Let it settle in for about 10 minutes, then pressed it in snuggly into the nooks with my finger tip pads, spread the green garlic oil sauce all over, topped that with torn pieces of the fresh mozzarella, the onion, and the asparagus all sprinkled relatively evenly over the surface. Another sprinkle of salt and into a preheated 400 oven.
It baked for about 20 minutes- you know it’s done when your entire kitchen is draped in the aromas of freshly-baked bread. Also, when you press on the surface and it springs back, that’s a good indicator (if the indent sticks, that means there’s still raw dough beneath the surface sticking to itself). The top should be golden brown, the mozzarella bubbly and oozing off the sides, also browned, and the little tips of onion almost burned. Remove it from the oven and, let it sit on top of the stove for a few minutes to settle into its new environment, then slide it out of the sheet pan onto a cooling rack so the bottom doesn’t get soggy. All in all, you want to let it sit at least 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Eric and I made a simple green salad from some farmers market mixed greens, sprinkled a generous handful of sunflower seeds, and a lemon-green garlic vinaigrette that had been in the fridge from the last salad. (juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 green garlic bulb- white parts- sliced super thin, pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp dijon, about 1/4 c walnut oil and ~ 1/4 + c EVOO. Shake very well. Taste with the thing you’re putting it on to be sure you like it. Adjust as needed.)
Bread and salad- a staple in our kitchen. The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters has a very reliable focaccia/ pizza dough recipe if you’re looking for something more specific than my “-ish” measurement system haha.