Onion, Oregano & TimO Focaccia: O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

19 CommentsWednesday • September 24, 2008 • by michelle

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….