Ingredients
Focaccia:
• 250g strong white bread flour, plus some to knead with
• 4g/1 tsp fast action yeast
• 1 tsp sea salt
• olive oil, for oiling bowl plus 10 tsp for garnish
• 170ml lukewarm water
• garnishes, eg cubed cheese (taleggio, goat's cheese, gorgonzola), rosemary, olives, thinly sliced garlic, marinated tomatoes/artichokes, jalapeno chillies, cubes of cooked potato or butternut squash*
Courgette pasta:
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tin (400g) cherry tomatoes
• 10 black olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 tbsp capers, drained (rinsed if salted)
• 4 courgettes, topped and tailed
• 70g parmesan, to serve
Preparation method
Focaccia:
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and one teaspoon of salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the lukewarm water. Mix until you have rough dough. Turn out and knead for about 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until soft and smooth.
- Oil a bowl and make sure it’s well coated. Add the dough and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough with your fist. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
- Poke your thumb in the middle of each ball to make a hole and fill with one teaspoon of olive oil and stick in the garnishes of your choice. Press the garnish down very firmly. Place them on a lined baking tray.
- Brush a little more olive oil over each bun. Leave to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400F/Gas 6. Push the garnish into the bun once more and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
Courgette pasta:
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil and garlic. Fry the garlic gently for 30 seconds then add the cherry tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Use a mandolin or potato peeler to cut the courgettes lengthways (discarding the seedy core) to make long ribbons. Cut the ribbons into 3-4 strips to make linguine.
- Crush the cherry tomato sauce with a fork and stir in the olives and capers. Season with a pinch of salt. Take off the heat and toss the prepared courgettes in the sauce for a minute or so to warm and for the sauce to coat.
- Serve the courgette linguine topped with parmesan and serve with the focaccia buns.