Focaccia bread and Italian treats
In my family, plenty of dinners are not complete without a loaf
of bread. When cooking pasta, we always have a loaf of sourdough
bread to soak up the remainder of sauce at the end of the meal.
When we barbecue, we often toss some garlic bread onto the grill to
go with whatever meats and veggies are grilling.
Focaccia bread and Italian treats
In my family, plenty of dinners are not complete without a loaf of bread. When cooking pasta, we always have a loaf of sourdough bread to soak up the remainder of sauce at the end of the meal. When we barbecue, we often toss some garlic bread onto the grill to go with whatever meats and veggies are grilling.
Until recently, however, I had never made my own bread from scratch. When I signed up for a cooking class through Gavilan College – it is actually taught at the Young Chefs Academy in Downtown Gilroy – I knew we were making minestrone soup and garlic bread the first night. I just assumed we were going to be slicing up some French bread and topping it with butter and garlic.
Imagine my surprise when it turned out my classmates and I would be making it from scratch. As it turns out, a basic crusty bread recipe is not so tough to make.
One of the best things about the class is some of the foods that are my favorite turn out to be simple enough to make at home. A friend of mine always talks about making homemade pasta, and I was always so impressed. But now that I’ve made fettuccine myself, it doesn’t seem like such a mystery. Pasta makers can be purchased at local stores and online for less than $40 and all it takes to make pasta is flour and eggs, and a little bit of patience.
Below are some recipes that are often found on the menu of restaurants, but are simple enough to make at home even on a weeknight.
Focaccia bread paninis
Bread:
¾ c. warm water
2 ½ tsp. fast acting yeast
½ tsp. sugar
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced
Olive oil
Paninis:
Three large tomatoes, sliced
1 c. fresh mozzarella, sliced
12 large basil leaves
Lightly grease a 13×9-inch baking pan with olive oil.
In a bowl stir the warm water, yeast and sugar until the yeast blooms, about 5 min. Mix the flour and salt in a small bowl. Using a mixer with a dough hook gradually add the flour to the yeast mixture until a soft dough forms. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, and shape into a ball. Invert bowl over the dough and let it rest for 10 min.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 13×9-inch rectangle and transfer to the baking pan. Let dough rise, covered loosely with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 15 min.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After the dough has doubled in size, about 15 min. sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, rosemary and garlic. With lightly oiled fingertips, press ¼-inch deep indentations into the dough. Bake 20 min. until golden.
Once the bread has finished baking, cut into 12 equal pieces. With the top of the bread facing inward, put tomato slices, mozzarella and basil on each sandwich.
The paninis can be cooked indoors or outdoors. Indoors, use a sandwich press or other indoor grill and cook for about 7 min. The sandwiches will be flattened by the press. If cooking outdoors, cook over medium heat for 5 min. on each side. Place a piece of foil over the sandwich and weigh them down with a brick or heavy pan to flatten them out.
Makes six sandwiches.
Homemade pasta
2 c. flour, plus ½ c. for kneading
3 large eggs
Water
Pasta machine
In a large bowl, place 2 c. flour and create a well in the middle. Break three eggs into the well. With a fork, pull the flour from the walls of the well, into the center, gradually mixing the flour and egg.
When the mixture begins to stay together, remove from the bowl and knead until it is well mixed and firm, and not sticky. Divide the dough into six balls, about the size of golf balls.
Using the pasta machine usually requires two people since the pasta can get up to four feet long. Most pasta machines have seven settings, so start the machine on the widest setting. Roll the dough ball through once, folding it into thirds before putting it back through the widest setting. Repeat six times until the pasta becomes more elastic and uniform in shape. Click to the next setting and roll through once, repeat for all six remaining settings. Once the pasta is to the required thickness, put it through the cutting side of the pasta maker to make spaghetti, angel hair pasta or fettuccine. Cut the pasta in half and pile loosely on wax paper until you are ready to cook it.
Pasta cooks for 4 min. and makes 6 servings.
Alfredo sauce
½ c. unsalted butter
1 ½ c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 c. heavy cream
½ c. chopped basil
4 garlic cloves, minced
Mince garlic gloves and chopped basil. Put basil aside.
In a saucepan melt butter and saute garlic in it. Gradually stir in the cheese until it is smooth and add cream. Continue heating until just to a boil. Remove from heat, add basil, and serve over pasta.
