24 September 2008
onion, oregano & timo focaccia: o foods for ovarian cancer awareness month
OK, raise your hand if you love focaccia! I do! I do!
I had never made it before, though, so I thought this What’s Cooking Wednesday would be a great time to learn, especially since I came across a recipe for Focaccia with Onions. In addition to the thyme (timo (TEE-moh) in Italian) that was listed in the ingredients, I threw in some oregano, because, you know O Foods and all.
What? You haven’t heard of the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest? Check out the details here.
As you can see, my onions were super-cooked when all was said and done, but they’re still really tasty. Note: I used red onions, so they’re not *as* cooked as they may seem. Anyway, I think next time I’ll slice them just a little bit thicker and maybe adjust the cooking temp.
If you have any other suggestions on making focaccia, please do share. Overall, I have to say that this is a fabulous basic recipe from The Italian Cooking Encyclopedia published by Barnes & Noble (with my adjustments below).
Onion, Oregano & TimO Focaccia
For dough:
- 2 1/2 tbsp fresh yeast or 1 package dry
- 1 c warm water
- pinch of sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3- 3 1/2 c flour
For topping:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, sliced
- Sprinklings of dried thyme and oregano
- Coarse sea salt
1. Put yeast in warmed medium mixing bowl (swirl around some hot water and then dump it out to warm the bowl). Add warm water, stir in sugar, and mix with fork. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to foam.
2. Mix in the salt and one cup of flour with a wooden spoon, then add in another cup of flour and mix until dough begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Sprinkle some flour on a flat work surface and knead the dough, adding the rest of the flour a little at a time. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is elastic and smooth, and shape it into a ball.
4. Place dough in lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let stand in a warm place for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size. To test if the dough is ready, poke it with two fingers; if the indentations remain, it’s ready.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F.
6. Punch down the dough to release air and then knead for 3-4 minutes.
7. Brush a shallow cookie/baking sheet with one tablespoon of the oil.
8. Place the dough in the pan and spread it to the edges with your fingers. Leave this sit, covered with a towel, for a half hour.
9. In the meantime, heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan on low heat, add onions, and cook until tender.
10. Stir in thyme and oregano and remove from heat.
11. Remove towel from pan and make indentations in the dough with your fingers.
12. Brush oil from the onion mixture on the dough, then spread onions over top evenly. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.
13. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until just turning golden.
14. Cut into squares or wedges, and serve focaccia by itself, as a side dish, or even as the bread of a sandwich. It is best warm or at room temperature.
Buon appetito!
Don’t forget to submit your O Foods recipe by September 30
and/or donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund!
Also, Megan’s Expat Snapshot of Italy Contest is still going on until tomorrow night–just head over to Career By Choice and fill in the blank: You Know You’re in Italy When….
Related posts:
- oatmeal banana craisin muffins: o foods for ovarian cancer awareness month
- o foods for ovarian cancer awareness month contest round-up: part I
- o foods for ovarian cancer awareness month contest
- 5 ways to raise ovarian cancer awareness through jewelry
- ovarian cancer awarness month: signs & symptoms
18 beans of wisdom »
KC on 24 Sep 2008 at 10:17 am #
Is it okay if I cheat and use my stand mixer?
Thyme and oregano seem like an interesting combination, I can’t wait to try it.
KC’s last blog post..Babes at the beach
Of course! Be sure to use enough of the oregano and thyme that you can taste them; I didn’t measure, so I don’t know exactly how much, but for me, the more the better
joanne at frutto della passione on 24 Sep 2008 at 10:18 am #
Yummy, I would also add thinly sliced or grated potatoes, something I learned in Abruzzo!
joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Gourmet Sleuth Website of the Month September 2008
And I thought you were Italian before…I bet you eat potatoes on pizza too, don’t you Joanne?
Deeba on 24 Sep 2008 at 10:27 am #
Focaccia is my fave bread…& with onions…YUMM-O-!!! Got my hands up when I read the title…great one for the O event!
Deeba’s last blog post..LENTILS WITH MEANING…THE MOTHER OF ALL DALS!
Hee hee…glad you enjoyed Deeba!
Deeba on 24 Sep 2008 at 10:28 am #
BTW Michelle…the commentLuv thingie seems to pick up really old posts. At some blogs it works OK, but at others it works like a RIG!!! LOL…my last post is actually a savoury pie!
Deeba’s last blog post..LENTILS WITH MEANING…THE MOTHER OF ALL DALS!
Yeah, I noticed that it hasn’t been very reliable lately; sometimes on other people’s blogs it doesn’t even pick up a post of mine at all when I *think* I’m still being updated in most readers…hmm….
Judith in Umbria on 24 Sep 2008 at 12:10 pm #
I prefer the onions quite caramelized like yours. The bread boutique near here makes it with thinnest potato slices and rosemary, too, but their onions are not brown enough, secondo me, and of course potato only ends with O when singular.
Judith in Umbria’s last blog post..Tilda and the preserving kitchen
These onions were truly delicious Judith, and I’m with you–I like them rather carmelized. Potato as an ingredient ends with O, so I’d take that focaccia too
nyc/caribbean ragazza on 24 Sep 2008 at 12:16 pm #
At first I was like what the heck is “time”. ha
I had pizza here with thinly sliced potatoes. it was very, very good!
nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..Films, writing and fear in Hollywood
Amazing how great potatoes are with bread products, isn’t it? YUM!
My Mélange on 24 Sep 2008 at 1:36 pm #
‘O’ my God!!!
This looks delicious. I looooove me some focaccia and let’s not get me started on caramelized onions
I made a fontina and roasted red pepper focaccia once- Chris jumped up and down when it came out of the over- THATS how good it looked. Yours looks just as good!!!
Have to try this one! Oh, and thanks for making me hungry
My Mélange’s last blog post..Travel Tip Tuesday – Best Travel Blogs
Yum, roasted red peppers with anything make me happy
a. on 24 Sep 2008 at 2:39 pm #
Ohhhhh! Yum yum yum!
W la focaccia!!
Come and see my blog sometime. I wish I had as many visitors as you; your blog is fabulous!
a.’s last blog post..pensierini
I’ve been watching you, cara; you’re doing fabulously
Milanese Masala on 24 Sep 2008 at 2:44 pm #
Very delicious use of “O”s. I remember trying my very first focaccia with onions in Liguria. Heavenly!
Milanese Masala’s last blog post..A little letter can do so much
Thanks; I love onions more every day I’m here, I think
City Girl on 24 Sep 2008 at 3:39 pm #
Looks very tasty
City Girl’s last blog post..What’s Cooking Wednesday — Roasted Acorn Squash and Arugula Flat Bread
I thoroughly enjoyed it
Lisa Milton on 24 Sep 2008 at 4:52 pm #
*sigh*
Your food always looks heavenly…
Thanks Lisa!
Thotlady on 24 Sep 2008 at 10:51 pm #
Looks delicious. I think I would also like the onions diced up and mixed in the dough. That would be good also. Love this bread.
Thotlady’s last blog post..Super Give-a-Way
YUM! Love me some onions
coffee messiah on 25 Sep 2008 at 12:23 am #
Haven’t had good foccacia since leaving SF ; (
We wish we were in Italy, for many reasons, one being the espresso.
It has to be better than most places here in the usa!
Cheers!
They *do* do focaccia and espresso rather well here, I agree. Thanks for stopping by!
annie on 25 Sep 2008 at 1:24 am #
OOOOOOOh. The focaccia looks sOOOO amazing.
Good cause to cook for, BRAVO!
annie’s last blog post..Pesto Now or Pesto Later
Thanks Annie
qualcosa di bello on 25 Sep 2008 at 1:31 am #
“O”mg!! those carmelised onions are pure perfection on that focaccia! i like your twist on a family favorite…we usually do rosemary in ours.
qualcosa di bello’s last blog post..the return of what’s cooking wednesday…
Yes, excellent with rosemary too. Now that I’ve made this basic one, I think I’ll be experimenting a lot more as it’s really quite easy!
Shan on 25 Sep 2008 at 2:57 am #
It looks amazing. I may have been tempted to lick the screen.
Shan’s last blog post..what’s cooking wednesday – the award winning edition
Thanks Shan
Bronnie on 26 Sep 2008 at 7:33 am #
oh my, that looks amazingly scrumptious!
it’s nice to find another foodie
i will definitely be bookmarking this & trying it out!!
Bronnie’s last blog post..crème bruleè… i love you
Hi Bronnie, if you want foodies, be sure to check out the Foodie Blogroll over on my far right sidebar (scroll down). Literally thousands there! Thanks for stopping by
Bleeding Espresso » o foods for ovarian cancer awareness month contest round-up: part I on 03 Oct 2008 at 6:46 pm #
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