Focaccia Caprese

We are already three months into this new year. Yet, this is my first post of the year. Despite intentions to the contrary, the blog has ended up being neglected. As always, the Blogging Marathon is what I've relied on to bring some action back into the blog. This time round, I've chosen to blog on flat breads from around the world for three days. By choosing this particular bread, I am also able to tick off one of the breads from the list of breads that the We Knead to Bake group has chosen to bake.
Focaccia is an Italian flat bread and Caprese refers to something that comes from Capri - an island off the coast of Italy. The topping on a focaccia caprese is tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella and basil. I have made some changes to the original recipe, the major one being that I have used whole wheat flour in place of all purpose flour, and the minor ones being the use of Italian seasoning mix in place of dried oregano and the use of grated mozzarella and parmesan in place of slices of buffalo mozzarella.

What you need:
For the dough :
Whole wheat flour -  3.5 cups
Instant yeast - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/8 cup (Original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)
Lukewarm water - 1 to 1.5 cups

For the topping:
Tomato - 3-4, sliced into thin circles
Grated mozarella and parmesan - 1/4 cup
Parsley - some, chopped fine

For the herb oil :
Oil - A little less than 1/4 cup
2 large cloves of garlic minced
Italian seasoning mix - 2 tsp
Mix these ingredients together and set aside.

To make the dough :
Take the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water, a little at a time and mix to form a pliable dough. Add oil and knead well. Let this rest in a well oiled bowl until doubled in volume. This took approximately two hours.

Divide the dough into two parts. Roll out each part roughly into a rectangle of 11" by 7". I patted it out into a rectangle by hand, to give it a rustic look. Transfer on to a baking tray and let it rise for 20 minutes. Drizzle some oil over it and give it a dimpled look using your fingers.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 - 20 minutes or until the focaccia starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle the herb oil over the focaccia. Arrange the tomato slices evenly over it and sprinkle some grated cheese and some chopped parsley on top. Top with some more of the herb oil and bake again at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-8 minutes until the cheese just melts. Remove from the oven and top with some more fresh chopped parsley.

Cut into slices/wedges and serve while hot.

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Minestrone soup

I have often stated on this blog that my all time favourite soup is the minestrone and that Olive Garden, in my opinion, makes the best minestrone. For the past several years, I have ordered minestrone at many other restaurants, hoping that it will match up to the taste of that from Olive Garden but sadly, that has not happened yet.
So, I did the next best thing - and that is to make minestrone at home, recalling ingredients from memory, and I must say that I am quite happy with the result - a filling soup that you will keep coming back for more of.

What you need:
Chickpeas/ garbanzo beans/ kabuli chana - 1/4 cup
Red kidney beans/rajma - 1/4 cup
Dried green peas - 1/4 cup
Onion - finely minced - 1/2 cup
Carrot - chopped - 1/2 cup
Celery - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Shell macaroni - 1/4 cup
Butter - 3-4 tbsp
Soya sauce - 1 tsp
Italian soup seasoning - to taste (I recommend using this generously)
Salt - to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated parmesan cheese

Soak the chickpeas, red kidney beans and green peas in plenty of water for 8-10 hours.
Heat butter in a thick, heavy bottomed pan. I used the pressure cooker to do this. Saute the chopped onion, carrot and celery on low heat until brown. Add the soaked beans, salt, soya sauce, 4 cups of water and shell macaroni. Cover and cook till one whistle. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Once the steam escapes completely, open the lid, stir well and add Italian soup seasoning. At this stage, if you feel the soup is too watery, boil for a while more to reach the required consistency and if you feel it is too thick, add some water and heat through.
Just before serving, add freshly ground black pepper and grate some parmesan cheese over the soup.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other marathoners doing BM#22.

Restaurant review - Tuscana

What??? An Italain joint that serves a variety of pizzas, pasta and freshly baked breads.
Where??? 19, 3rd Street, Wallace Garden, Nungambakkam, Chennai - 34.
Contact : 044-45038008
www.tuscanarestaurants.com

If you love Italian food.....and if you are tired of eating the goo that passes off as pizza at other joints, then this is definitely the right place for you.
Let's start with the ambiance - the place is cheery and bright. It gets very, very crowded on weekends....so do make reservations. I went on Valentines day with no reservation, but we managed to get a table outside (without AC). It was right next to where they baked the pizzas in a fire oven.....so I got to see and smell all the different toppings. The blogger in me wished that I hadn't forgotten to take my camera with me. It would have been infinitely more comfortable if we'd been able to get a table inside where it was much, much cooler, but Iam not complaining.
The food....now where do I start???Let's start with the soup. I ordered Minestrone and expected to be served tomato soup with vegetables in it, as is the norm in most Italian restaurants here. But I was in for a pleasant surprise. This soup actually tasted good. I always compare Minestrone with the one served at Olive Garden in the US (That, to me, is the best minestrone).....and the one served at Tuscana came pretty close.
The garlic bread was warm, soft and just right. It disappeared in almost no time.
For our main course, we had a 12 inch Melanzine pizza which came topped with eggplants,mozarella,cherry tomatoes,pine nuts and garlic. It tasted refreshingly different. The crust was not too thick and the insides were delicately seasoned with Italian seasoning. Unlike the cheese-oozing, greasy pizzas served at other places, this one leaves you satisfied, without being overly heavy on the stomach.
Service is quick, efficient and attentive.
Price - Expect to pay around Rs. 400-450 per person, including a glass of wine.

Will I go there again??? Definitely!!! But the next time round, I am going with reservations, so I can sit in comfort and enjoy the food.