Lucid Food_ Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life - Louisa Shafia [29]
In a large bowl, stir 4 teaspoons salt into the flour. Make a hole in the middle of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture, ¾ cup water, the ¼ cup olive oil, and ½ cup of the honey. Coat your hands with olive oil and mix until you have a uniform dough.
Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead for 5 minutes, then transfer the dough to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a damp cloth and put the bowl in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, 60 to 80 minutes.
Oil a 17 by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet and coat your hands with olive oil. Turn the dough onto the baking sheet and press it out to the edges. Make dimples with your fingers all over the dough. (The dimpling helps to hold the honey and barley malt.) Press in the fruit. Cover the pan with a damp cloth and return to a warm place to rise again for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine the remaining ½ cup honey with the barley malt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Press the dough back out to the edges of the pan if it has shrunk. Brush the warm honey mixture over the fruit and dough and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Bake the focaccia for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake until the top is firm and golden, about 10 minutes.
Serve warm with ricotta and honey if desired. The focaccia is best eaten the day it is made.
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Prune Purée and Hazelnuts
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Prune Purée and Hazelnuts
After my company catered a party spotlighting foods from the state of Oregon, we were left with several pounds of fresh hazelnuts from the Willamette Valley, the capital of U.S. hazelnut production. We added the nuts to a flourless chocolate cake, and the result was this dark, rich confection with fruity undertones. Maple sugar, which is simply dehydrated maple syrup, is sold at most health food stores, but you may substitute any dry sugar. Serve this cake with vanilla-spiked whipped cream.
Serves 8 to 10
1 cup pitted prunes, soaked in 1 cup water overnight
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, peeled, and pulsed in a food processor until coarsely ground
5 eggs, separated
1 cup maple sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Drain the prunes and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Add the vanilla extract and purée until smooth. Set aside.
Grease a 10-inch round cake pan or an 8 by 11-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Grease the paper.
Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, then place the bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water. Melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally.
When the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat, stir in the butter, and fold in the prune purée and the hazelnuts.
Using a mixer, beat the egg yolks and the maple sugar for 4 minutes, then fold into the chocolate mixture. Using a clean whisk, beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 3 batches.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pan, and continue baking for 5 to 7 minutes more. The center should still feel slightly soft. Let cool and serve at room temperature. The cake will keep for a couple of days at room temperature, lightly covered with parchment paper.
winter
The cold weather months get a bad rap when it comes to eating seasonally, but in truth, items of rare beauty pass through the market this time of year: Citrus fruits like tiny kumquats and rosy pink grapefruit are juicy and abundant; fruits with a whiff of exotic mystery like pomegranates and quince are an everyday appearance; and hearty cold weather vegetables like red kuri squash, gold beets, and celery root