Southern Italian Semolina Bread

DAY 1

Sprinkle 1/4 tsp yeast over 1/2 cup warm water.  Let sit 2-3 minutes.  Gently stir.  Add 3/4 cup all purpose flour.  Stir.  Cover with a damp kitchen towl.  Let sit several hours or overnight.

DAY 2

Mix the biga into 1 cup warm water.  It will be sloppy.  Add 1 cups semolina and work it in.  Cover with damp towel and let sit 2-3 hours until it has puffed and has bubbles over the surgace.  This is the first rise.

Add 3/4 cup room temp water and 2 2 1/2 cups semolina flour, alternating.  Add 1/2 tbsp salt and knead for 10 minutes.  Place in an oiled bowl and let rise another 2 hours.  (2nd rise)

Punch down and from into a loaf.  Let rise while oven is preheating.  Right before cooking slice a couple of gashes on the top.   Preheat oven to 450 degrees with stone in a cold oven for 30 minutes.  Slide onto stone.  Cook 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and cook another 40 minutes.  Cool on a rack.

The bread recipe comes from The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.  The bean soup  comes from http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cannellini-soup.  This has been one of our favorite soups for years.  The bread was delicious.  The boys thought it was perfect with the soup, but they don't know any better.  This soup is truly the best poured over a real baguette.

Mediterranean Country-Style Bread

This delicious bread recipe came from The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.  The more I use this cookbook, the more I like it.  This bread took 3 days, but minimal effort. 

DAY 1

Make the biga   Sprinkle 1 tsp yeast over 2 cups very warm water, stir briefly with a wooden spoon.  Add 2 cups of white flour.  Stir to mix.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a cool place overnight.  (If you have a start, mix a cup of starter with warm water and flour, cover and set aside to rise.)

 
DAY 2

Remove 1 cup of the starter, put in a glass jar and store in the refrigerator for future bread.

It's alive.  Add 2 tbsp salt, a cup of tepid water and 2 cups whole wheat flour.  Mix thoroughly with your hands.  Cover, return to a cool place and let rise overnight.

DAY 3

Obviously, I needed a bigger bowl.  So, I moved it to a much bigger bowl, add 1 1/2 cups tepid water and 7 cups white flour.  Knead on a wooden counter for 10 minutes, add flour as necessary.  Put in a clean bowl, dusted with flour, for another 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Before the rise

After the rise.  Now punch the dough and knead briefly just to get the air holes out.  Form into two loaves, any shape.  This is where I kind of lost focus.

I made small loaves.  Let rise 30 minutes.  Then put a couple of slashes in each.  I forgot this step.

 

And one large long loaf.  Let rise 30 minutes.  Don't forget to put a few slashes before baking.  Again, I forgot. 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone in the cold oven.  I cooked the long loaf on the stone, the small loaves on a cookie sheet.  Cook 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350, cook the small loves 25 minutes, the large 35 minutes.  Let cool on a rack.

 

Pizza

This is by far the best pizza dough that I've made.  It was delicious and chewy.  This recipe came from The New Mediterranean Diet

Pizza Dough

Combine 1/2 tsp yeast with 1 cup very warm water.  Stir gently.  Add 1 cup all purpose flour.  Stir until just blended.  Lumps don't matter.  Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes.  I let mine sit for a couple of hours.  If I have any organization the next time I make this, I will let it sit overnight.

Then stir in 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup semolina flour.  Stir.  Dissolve 1 tsp salt in 1/2 cup hot water.  Add some of the water and mix until you have a dough you can work with.  The recipe says how much water you add will vary by the humidity in the room.  I added 1/4 cup, which have me a soupy mess.  I slowly kneaded in another 1/2 cup or so of all purpose flour.  Knead for 10 minutes.  Put in an oiled bowl, cover and let sit for an hour.  Again, I let mine sit for a couple of hours.  It was very easy to roll.

Marinara

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil.  Slice 5 large garlic cloves.  Cook in olive oil about 5 minutes.  Don't let it brown.  Add 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and 1/2 tsp sugar.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Roll out pizza dough.  Pour about 1 tbsp olive oil onto crust and brush it to the edges.  Add marinara and garnish.  Preheat oven and pizza stone to 550 degrees.  When the oven is ready, slide the pizza onto the stone and reduce the heat to 500 degrees.  Cook 7-8 minutes.

 My pizza was dressed with black olives, mushrooms, and a small amount of italian sausage.  If I wasn't out of oregano, I would have sprinkled it on top.  When it came out I added grated parmesan.  This recipe makes 2 pizzas, with some left over sauce.

Green salad with pierpont farms cherry tomatoes, blue cheese and vinaigrette.

Unfortunately Sanford has pneumonia and is unable to participate in dinner tonight, or this week.  He had a ramen soup, per his request.  I threw out the flavor packet, since that has enough sodium for a week.  We had some shrimp stock in the freezer, so I used that to flavor the ramen.  I sauteed 3 large garlic cloves - minced, 6 sliced scallions, minced ginger and 1 sliced serrano.  Add 1 cup shrimp stock cut with 1 cup water.  (My stock was a little too strong).  Simmer.  Add the ramen and cook for another 2 minutes.

Another sick day, and boys choice

Sanford is still sick, so I made him a version my mom's potato soup in the pressure cooker.  I am blogging the recipe mainly so I can do again in the future.

Pressure Cooker Potato Soup

Saute 1 large chopped onion and 3 celery stalks in 2 tbsp butter.  Add 1 1/2 pounds peeled, chopped potatoes and 5 cups chicken broth, 1 tsp dried thyme, ground pepper.  Cover, bring to pressure.  Cook for 5 min at pressure.  Quick cool to release pressure.  Season with salt to taste.


Also, per our earlier agreement, the boys get to choose one non Med dinner per week.  They, being good American boys, chose hamburgers and mac and cheese, green beans.  The hamburgers were basic grass fed beef seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked on the flat top.

Mac and cheese.

Boil noodles.  I used left over orecchiette noodles from the other night. 

Melt 3 tbsp butter.  Add 3 tbsp flour.  Stir and cook 2 minutes.  Add 1 1/2 cup milk (I used skim), salt, pepper and a little nutmeg.  Whisk.  Cook until thickened, about 10 min.  Remove from heat, stir in 2 cups cheese ( I used sharp cheddar).  Stir in noodles.


The boys ate it in about 5 minutes, then out to a movie.  Glad dinner was quick.

Baked semolina gnocchi with pork chops and sauteed squash ribbons

This was an interesting dish.  I liked it, but I would do it differently in the future.  The whole time I was eating it I was trying to decide what other dish it reminded me.  Then finally I figured it out, and I am not crazy since my husband agreed with me (although he still has a fever and might not be the best judge).  It is reminiscent of Kurt's gorgonzola cheesecake from the Bistro, even though there is no gorgonzola in this dish.  Strange, but true.  This recipe is adapted from Essentials of Mediterranean Cooking.  I like this cookbook.  Might have to purchase it in the future.

Baked Semolina Gnocchi:

Heat 4 cups of whole or low fat milk.  (I used about 3 1/2 cups skim with heavy cream to equal 4 cups)  Bring to a simmer.  Stir in 1 cup semolina flour, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg.  Stir with a wooden spoon constantly, until thickened.  This thickened for me almost immediately.  I cooked and stirred it for about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Beat in 1 egg, 1 tbsp butter and 1/3 cup grated parmesan.

Pour into a butter pan and flatten with a wet spatula.  Refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut into 2 1/2 inch circles.  Layer in another buttered gratin dish, as in the picture.  Brush the tops with 2 tbsp melted butter and another 1/3 cup grated parmesan.

Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  At this point, mine wasn't browned on top, so I put it under the broiler for another 3 minutes.

Garnish with halved cherry tomatoes and sliced basil.

When serving, the top part stayed intact, but the bottom became a gooey clump.  While delicious, I would have preferred it to be one intact circle.  The next time I will not layer them like in the picture.  I would put them on a buttered cookie sheet and cook them so that they are not touching.

I am not sure if this is technically Mediterranean, but sometimes a girl has to cook what's in her house.  I took 2 squash and using a potato peeler, sliced them into ribbons, stopping when I got to the seeds.  Heat 1 tsp butter with 2 tsp olive oil in a pan.  Add 3 minced garlic cloves.  Cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the squash ribbons.  Cook 2-3 minutes, until tender.

This might be my favorite way to eat summer squash.

Just a pork chop, seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried parsley, cooked on the flattop til med rare.  Sometimes simple is better.  Delicious.

Middle Eastern Pizza

I love this recipe.  The kids really liked it.  One of the best parts about it is they are delicious at room temperature, so perfect for lunches and Saturdays at the soccer field.  The recipe is adapted from The New  Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.

First make the dough.  In a non metallic bowl add 3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour and 1 tbsp salt.  Whisk together.  Dissolve 1/2 tsp yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.  Make a well in flour.  Add the dissolved yeast.  Flick the flour over the yeast/water so that it's completely cover.  Let sit at least 10-15 minutes.

Then using a wooden spoon, start to incorporate the flour into the yeast/water.  Continue to stir while slowly adding 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt.  Then add up to 1/2 cup warm water, aiming for a soft malleable dough.  I only needed 1/4 cup.

Put in clean bowl, oiled, and cover.  Let rise at least one hour.

Next, make the filling.  Cook 1/2 cup pine nuts in a couple tablespoons olive oil.  Cook until golden, but not browned.  Remove with slotted spoon.  Add 1 large chopped onion.  Cook on low until soft, 15-20 minutes.  In a bowl mix the pinenuts. onions, 1 cup drained chopped whole canned tomatoes, 3/4 pound ground beef or lamb, one chopped red pepper, 1 cup finely chopped parsley, 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground allspice, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp ground red chili pepper.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix with your hands until uniform.  Set aside.

Next, punch down the dough.  Knead a couple of times.  Divide the dough into four pieces.  Leave dough not in use covered with a damp towel.  Roll out the dough thinly, until it's about 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into 5-6 inch circles.  I used a saucepan lid.  You should get 4 from each 1/4 of the dough.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Place on cookie sheet.

                   Next, spread a thin layer of the meat mixture onto the dough, leaving a narrow rim.

     Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.  Serve hot or at room temperature.  Serve with plain yogurt.

Orecchiette

I pulled everything out of my pantry today, painted the walls a lovely orange and the shelves white.  After putting everything back it was already 6pm.  My plans for dinner tonight involved making a pizza dough, which I didn't accomplish today.  So, a change of plans.  I couldn't find broccoli rabe at the grocery store, so again, a change of plans.  This was good.  It was also very quick.  It may be Italian, but I don't think they would ever eat a big bowl of pasta for the main course.  But a one pot meal was what I was looking for.

Orechiette with chicken, tomato and ricotta.

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Salt.  Cook orechiette until al dente.

Season small chunks of chicken breast with dried thyme and dried parsley, salt and pepper.  Cook in a little olive oil.  Set aside.

In a bowl, dice 2 pounds tomatoes.  Add 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. 

In a small food processor add 1 cup ricotta, 1/2 cup basil, 1 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper.  Process until smooth.

Add the ricotta mix and the chicken to the tomatoes, along with the orechiette.  Garnish with sliced basil.