Tag Archives: Vegetarian

Potato Focaccia

Makes 2 large Focaccias or 6 – 8 small ones

Pre heat the oven to 425° F

Spoiler alert!!

There’s mashed potatoes in the dough.

If you think your love for all things “Dough” can’t grow bigger…you’re wrong.

Unless you have already had a potato Focaccia before. This is the lightest and fluffiest Focaccia you will ever have. When you press the Focaccia between your fingers you will see there is a bounciness that is unmatched by anything else. The mashed potato does something magical to dough.

I’ve had it in cakes before too and the same thing happens.

But back to the recipe, you will need to plan ahead, because it has to rise for quit some time. You can use left over cold mashed potato or otherwise just boil a few potatoes and mash them. This recipes makes a lot, but you can easily freeze some of the dough for later use.

The Focaccia above has home roasted Tomato sauce, grilled Onions, grilled Peppers and a few Anchovis on top. You can leave out the Anchovis for Vegans.

Ingredients:

1.5 C. Luke warm water, about 100° F

2 tsp. instant yeast

1 tsp. Honey or Sugar (for vegans)

6 C. Spelt flour

1/4 C. olive oil

1.5 tsp. Himalayan Salt

1 C. Mashed potatoes.

Method:

Put the warm water in the bowl of your mixer, fitted with the hook attachment. Pour in the honey, or sugar. Add the yeast, carefully mix and leave it to activate for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile measure out all your other ingredients.

Mix the olive oil in with the mashed potatoes and add to the bowl. Mix gently. Add the remaining ingredients and mix on medium for about 5 minutes. The dough should not cling to the bowl anymore, add a little flour if it does.

Turn out to a lightly floured surface and give it a knead and shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for 3 hours.

After the rise. Turn out the dough to a floured surface. Divide in half. Shape one half into a Focaccia shape, I always make mine a little oval shape and also a bit irregular to give it a more rustic look.

Place the Focaccia on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Press little dimples in the dough with your finger and drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with some coarse sea salt and Rosemary. Drizzle the Rosemary with a little bit of oil before to prevent burning.

Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. After 15 minutes turn the heat down to 400° F. It should sound hollow when you tap on it.

Alternatively, make smaller shapes and bake about 5 minutes less.

You can also top your Focaccia with vegetables, or anything else you like. This way becoming a meal in itself.

When I bake smaller plain ones I use them for sandwiches. Or serve them with soup. The large ones are great party food cut into smaller squares, or serves two as a dinner with plenty of toppings. Basically once you have the dough let your imagination run free.

Enjoy

Myra Xo

Beet Root Risotto

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Serves 4

If you’re in the mood for some sensational color on your plate, I think Beet root Risotto is the way to go. For me, it just doesn’t get prettier than this.

This one is not as heavy as some Risottos since there is no cheese or butter in the rice but just on top.

The Beet gives the Risotto a certain earthy sweetness that I have balanced with Gorgonzola.

When the Gorgonzola melts it emulsifies with the rice creating a sweet and salty creaminess. I haven’t added any extra butter, because the fat in the cheese is enough for me, but you can add some at the end if you like.

*Vegan option below.

Ingredients:

1 Large Beet, peeled and grated (use gloves)

1 1/2 C. Arborio rice

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 small red onion, peeled and diced fine

1 garlic clove, peeled and grated

1 tsp. Himalayan salt

1/2 C. dry white wine

4 C. organic Chicken or Vegetable stock

1 tsp. Fresh Thyme leafs, removed from stalks

2 Sage leafs, crumbled up (if dried) or very thinly sliced, Chiffonade.

7 oz. Gorgonzola to put on top.

*For Vegan version substitute for some Soy Yoghurt and chopped Pistachios.

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large pot. Glaze the onion for five minutes before adding the garlic. Now add the rice and salt, stir for a minute or so. Add the herbs and the white wine. Stir constantly throughout the entire procedure. It will take approximately 20 – 25 minutes. But the stirring is was creates the creaminess of the Risotto.

Now add one cup of the beetroot. Reserve the remainder for decoration.

Keep on stirring. Adding half a cup of stock as you go. Let all the liquid evaporate each time before adding more stock.

When the rice is al dente. Turn off the heat, add a bit more stock to keep it moist. Serve straight away, with a heaped spoonful of raw beet and Gorgonzola. Or Pistachios and some Soy Yoghurt for Vegans.

NOTE: If you don’t like Blue cheese you can substitute it with a good Parmigiano.

Black Bean Burger

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I had mentioned in another post that my favorite food is actually Hamburgers. Well one of my favorite Hamburgers is this one, the Black Bean Burger. It is so good and if you serve it on a home made bun even better, goes without saying.

You won’t miss the meat at all with this one. They’re crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside but with enough bite to give you the burger sensation. The bite is because you’re not supposed to squash all the beans to a puree, but leave some whole. You also need to add enough seasoning. Then bake them nicely in a pan until they get a dark golden crust on the outside. I serve mine with grilled Eggplant & grilled red Peppers.

Ingredients:

2 C. Black Beans, cooked

1 tbsp. Olive oil + 2 tsp. for cooking

1 Onion, peeled and chopped fine

1 clove of Garlic, peeled and grated

1 tbsp. Nutritional Yeast (optional, but it does add a hearty flavour)

1 tsp. Taco seasoning

1/4 C. Breadcrumbs or use GF oats instead.

1/4 C. of mixed nuts

1 Flax egg (1 tbsp. flax + 3 tbsp. water) Let sit for 15 min.

1 tbsp. Chia seeds

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Method:

Put the beans on a plate and squash them with a fork until roughly mashed. There should still be enough chunks for texture.

Meanwhile cook the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp. of olive oil over gentle heat until golden. Let cool slightly.

Put the squashed beans in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.

Form into patties and place them on a slightly oiled plate. Cover with cling film and put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to firm up.

When ready to cook. Place a frying pan over medium high heat, put in the 2 tsp. of olive oil and cook for about 5 minutes on each side. Serve with toppings and additions of your liking. I do recommend you put them on the Hamburger Buns ,that makes them even better! Enjoy.

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