Onion Jam

Hi there!

Thank goodness a blog is not a living thing because I’d be sued for neglecting it for months and I’m pretty much glad that I don’t make money from blogging because I suck at concentrating on writing. Who could resist not clicking on stupid 9gag vids and cute animal vids? I started with plenty of ideas in my head but 2 hours later I’d be reading about how to grow onions. Speaking about onions, I have accepted the fact that I also suck in gardening so I may as well buy  all the onions I need. My thumbs just aren't that green.

Onion is one of my favorite pantry staples. It makes simple food tastes like 5 star cuisine and I do not like skimping on onions. I put it in the salad, I make it into pie, I use double amount of it in stir fries, basically I love onion for its taste and its health benefits. Though I do not go as far as worship it like the ancient Egyptians. Do you know that they believed that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life? Onions were even used in Egyptian burials, the archaeologists found traces of onions in the eye sockets of Ramesses IV. Cool and creepy, isn't it? They took the eyes out, put them in a clay jar then shoved an onion in each eye socket.

Anyhow, let’s stop there before you get grossed out by what I find amusing. Let me share you an amazing onion recipe that will turn your world upside down. Onion jam. I found the recipe at Allrecipes.com and this is perfect without any tweaking. I totally find it ahmazing that with just FOUR simple ingredients, you can turn a humble allium into a sassy, classy, sexy dish. The only thing I do differently is leaving the onion in the pot after I finish cooking it so it will mellow further and caramelize beyond perfection.

Here’s what you need:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

4 cups onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup red wine vinegar 

ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat vegetable oil in a heavy pot, use stainless or glass, over medium heat. Stir sugar into vegetable oil with a wooden spoon, stirring constantly until mixture is a light caramel-color. This mixture will be EXTREMELY HOT. So excuse my camera angle, I'm trying to deal with it fast and careful to avoid burning it, and protect myself from nasty hot sugar-oil splatter, and so should you.

Stir onion, salt, and black pepper into sugar mixture. Onions will immediately start to caramelize. Stir frequently over medium heat until sugar has dissolved and onions are browned, about 15 minutes. Pour red wine vinegar into onion mixture and simmer until mixture has a jam consistency, about 30 minutes. Let it cool in the pot with half the lid on.

How easy is that? Here is the result, EPIC!

It's tangy, it's sweet, it is just super umami. 

You can use it as a condiment when you serve steak or curry. It is a simpler substitute for chutney and you do not have to go through all the trouble of making chutney. But here is how we serve it at home. On bread, with a good spread of  cream cheese. 

It just can't get any better than this. The tanginess compliments the creaminess of the cheese. It is like a match made in heaven. It is just how things are meant to be. 

For more lovely onion ideas, you can try:

French Onion Muffin

Individual Potato Onion Tartes Tatin

Happy cooking,

Amy

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Sourdough Bagels

“It has been almost two months since my last bake.” confessed the militant advocate for good food who also happened to be a gluttonous baker.

She had tried to stay far away from the temptation called wheat, meat, and everything buttered and though the fat she piled mile high from the last Christmas parties she went to had not yet completely disappeared, her already weak willed self broke at the thought of having to have another slice of factory bread just because she was afraid to gain a few pounds by baking.

So on that eventful night, her dormant sourdough starter, which she treasured like the golden tooth she thought she would have one day, was fed with the purest organic dark rye flour so it would wake up from its deep slumber and ready to be at its Mistress’ service. But alas, too long Bonnie had slept. One feeding, two feedings, three feedings were what it took to wake the bonnie sleepy starter drunk in its own alcohol. Once Bonnie was awakened, she sported a grin bigger than Cheshire cat’s grin and made way to her laboratory called The Kitchen.

  

LOL, enough with the story. Let me just say a very belated New Year. YAY. Yes, I haven’t baked in a while. Jeez I want my old jeans back and YAY, I am getting there. Apparently bread is not what made me gained weight. It was dinner. I still eat like I used to but I only have coffee or hot cocoa at night. My dinner is at 5 pm. Weird isn't it? But whatever works for me might not work for you vice versa. But what I know for sure, do not go into a fad or crash diet because once you’re done, you’re getting the lost pounds back plus some more caused by missing a certain kind of food so much so you gorge in it until you feel rather bad about it. Diet, a vicious cycle don’t you think?

Anyhow, I want to share you a sourdough bagels recipe. This is a recipe that I love so much because it yields chewy bagels with a pleasant sourdough tang. Bagels are supposed to be chewy; otherwise it should be called doughnuts. I do have to warn you that you need to work those arms to knead the dough like you are competing for $1000. The gluten needs to be strong, strong, strong. So you have to knead, knead, knead. 
So let’s roll up those sleeves!

Recipe is adapted from: Wild Yeast Blog

Ingredients

340 gr bread flour

10 g vital wheat gluten*

130 gr cold water

28 gr milk powder

17 gr brown sugar 

11 gr salt

300 gr active 100%-hydration sourdough starter

----------------

1 tbs baking soda for boiling

Sesame or poppy seeds for topping, optional

Note:

*If you do not have vital wheat gluten, you can use 350 gr bread flour but the result will be less chewy.

Directions:

-Mix all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined and KNEAD.

If you are tired, rest for a while and do not forget to cover your dough with a cling wrap so it does not dry out. It will also benefit the dough. For example; knead for 10 minutes, rest for 10 minutes, then knead again. Low hydration dough gives you the best arm workout.

-Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.

-Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Cover and let rest for another 10 minutes.

-Line a sheet tray with a parchment paper or silpat then dust it generously with semolina or corn meal.

I just have to put this here. Look at her knead the heavy dough :D

Shaping:

You can shape bagels in two ways. 

-The first is making a 10 inch long rope from each ball of dough and form a ring by joining both ends, but overlapping each a bit, then roll the joint ends to seal the deal.

-Second, this is the easy way, is just to poke a hole in the middle of the dough.

Choose whichever way of shaping you like

Proofing and Baking:

-Proof for about 3-4 hours at warm room temperature, until the bagels look and feel a bit puffy.

-When 3-4 hours is up, transfer the whole tray then to the refrigerator for 4–8 hours.

-Preheat oven to 215C.  

-Put a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil 

-Prepare a wire rack

-Remove bagels from refrigerator 

-When the water boils vigorously, add the baking soda.  

-Gently lower a few bagels at a time into the boiling water.  Boil for 20 seconds (by which time they should be floating).  If they float immediately, be sure to turn them after 10 seconds so both sides get the full benefit of the boiling water.

-Lift them out with a strainer or slotted spatula, roll it on the topping if you're using, and place on the wire rack.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Let them sit on the rack for at least 30 seconds before placing them back on the tray.

-Once they are all back on the tray, slide them into the oven.  When the oven door is shut, lower heat to 200C.  Bake until golden, around 24-26 minutes.

I hate to admit it but every time I see this picture, Pitbull's image just pops in my head singing..

One two three four

Uno dos tres cuatro

I know you want me, want me

You know I want cha, want cha

But who does not want these plump bagels??

These are best eaten at the same day but if you want to keep it fresh longer, freeze the bagels by wrapping them individually in cling wrap. Bring it to room temperature and toast it before you consume it. Now, pass me some cream cheese, please. 
Today, we dine. Tomorrow, we jog.

Cheers,

Amy

Submitting this to YeastSpotting

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Traditional German Pretzels

Pretzels, what joyous treat.     

      

I used to make pretzels the easy way. It is delicious, I can assure you. But it lacks character. Something that makes pretzels pretzels. The traditional German pretzels require a dip in lye water. I understand that lye, or chemically known as Sodium hydroxide, lies in grey area. While it is safe in small amount to be digested by human, unless I am German and I own a pretzel geschaft, I do not find the need to go to the store and purchase lye solution.

But in my pursue of authentic pretzels, I read that baked baking soda is a good replacement for lye. You see, lye is alkaline and it affects the Maillard reaction, the  chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars that gives browned foods--as a result of baking and searing-- a certain flavor. Lye bath gives pretzels deep brown crust, crunchy arms and distinctive taste. But remember, not all lye is food grade. You can’t just use lye that is meant or used for soap making. So this is where baking soda comes in. Lower in alkaline, baking soda can act as lye substitute. Not 100%, but near. Near is good than eating soap ingredients.

You can use baking soda, plainly. But if you wanna go further in altering the chemical properties of baking soda to make it very near to the effects lye gives, bake the baking soda in the oven for an hour in 120C. You can bake the baking soda in huge amount and keep it in an air tight canister. It has no expiration date. But I know better than to waste energy for the sake of color.

In short, this is what you get if you use..

-Lye bath: Very deep mahogany, like the color of a bark, superb texture.

-Baked baking soda bath: Deep mahogany, almost like a bark in color, superb texture.

-Baking soda bath: Beautiful dark brown color, superb texture.

-No bath at all: Are you kidding me?

Now that we set the rules straight for the matter of color and texture, we should get to the recipe. You will find many online that do not use beer, like my Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels recipe if you choose to omit beer and in a hurry. But this one, the one with the beer, trust me on this, it is a definite keeper.

Recipe adapted from Pretzel Making at Home

Ingredients

Pretzel dough:

2 1/4tsp instant yeast

120 ml  water

120 ml cold pilsner beer*

1tbs barley malt syrup/dark brown sugar

320gr bread flour

100gr dark rye flour**

5-10gr wheat bran***
2 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tsp salt

For the bath:

1/4 cup (baked) baking soda

2 Liter water

--------

Coarse sea salt, for topping***

Note:
*You can use all water should you avoid beer

**You can use all bread flour should you not have dark rye flour

***Optional

Instructions:

-Mix all dry ingredients together, pour water and beer. Knead until the dough is smooth. 

-Refrigerate the dough for at least 8 hours.

-Divide the dough into 8 equal portions

-Shape into pretzels and let them proof around 20 minutes.

-Prepare the baking soda bath by boiling the water and baking soda. When the baking soda already dissolves, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.

-Dip each side of the pretzel dough for 10 seconds.

-If the pretzel hands fall off, worry not. You can always rearrange it again after the bath.

-Scatter some coarse sea salt on the pretzel if you like.

-Bake in a preheated oven on 260C for 8-12 minutes. If your oven cannot go that high, 250C will also be fine.

Note:

If you divide the dough into ten and bake for 15 minutes, you will get smaller pretzels with thin hands and very crispy hands those are.

I am not that big of a beer fan but I wouldn’t turn down a free beer, especially when it’s hot outside.. or when it’s cold outside or.. you know.. whatever the weather is. But I am also not a lass who would spend money on beer, unless I am making pretzels. You cannot taste the beer here, that is why you should keep some beer at hand. To help you gulp the pretzels down.

Oh.. Don't forget some mustard.

Not that yellow English mustard though.. 

Choose something bolder, Dijon I recommend.

Do try this at home. You won't regret it. But if you're too lazy to make it at home, you are always welcome at mine. Bring the beer,though.

Prost!

Amy

Submitted to YeastSpotting

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Chocolate Cinnamon Babka

I have been sleep deprived for the last 5 weeks. My works piled up high, which is good because it means people trust me to handle their scripts. Now that I finished them, I have to reward myself with something before I crawl to my cave and stay there like a hermit to study for the finals at November. Dang! So little time so many friggin text books. Not to mention I have to help Amiko with her school works. She's homeschooled, but that means lots and lots of subjects must be taught by her teacher at home, which is me, so her grades would be good, if not stellar. I do think 24 hours a day is not enough. That is why I have zero tolerance for bad coffee.

Now about my reward, I have the house all by myself today to concentrate on baking something so sinfully delicious; Babka. Babka is a very popular Ukrainian dessert bread. It is very rich and commonly appears around Easter. I guess each country in Europe has their own Easter bread; British Hot Cross Buns, Bulgarian Kozunak, Italian Pane di Pasqua, Russian Kulich,Croatian Sirnica, Spanish Hornazo, and many more. The word Babka derives from the word Grandmother, or Babka. Perhaps in the old times, grandmothers were the ones usually baked Babka.

Now, even though I am far from being a grandmother myself and this is not easter, I crave for something indulging because I am celebrating. What am I celebrating? I could say because I survived that monstrous creature called deadline. But no, I am celebrating the act of celebration, by baking a bread worthy enough to be celebrated. Chocolate Cinnamon Babka.

The recipe I always use is from the book Artisan Bread Everyday by Peter Reinhart. I have tried many recipes in that book because it was one of my first baking books. This particular one is a gem. I have tried many Babka recipes but if you have ever heard a term 'lesser Babka', most of other ones I tried are indeed lesser Babka. They're not yeasty enough and somehow lack of character. Anyhow, I cut down some butter and yolk and also incorporate whole wheat flour and wheat bran to make me feel less guilty. But if you carefully read the recipe, I am still guilty. Just not THAT guilty.

Ingredients

DOUGH

2 tbs instant yeast*

200gr lukewarm milk**

70 gr unsalted butter, room temperature

85 gr sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 egg yolks

200 gr all-purpose flour

225 gr wheat flour***

3 tbs wheat bran, optional****

1 tsp salt

Note:
*This will taste very yeasty, if you do not like the yeasty taste, do reduce it to  only 1/2tbs-1 tbs instant yeast.

**Use only 170 gr of water if you're using only all-purpose flour

***You can substitute the wheat flour with all-purpose flour, vice versa

****Adding wheat bran means you need to incorporate more liquid into the dough

FILLING

250 gr dark chocolate

1 tsp ground cinnamon

50 gr unsalted butter

Directions            

MAKE THE DOUGH              

-Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth.

-Add the vanilla to the egg yolks and whisk lightly to break up the yolks, then add the yolks to the sugar mixture. Keep whisking until it's creamy.

-Add the mixture of flour, yeast, salt, then pour in the milk mixture.

-Transfer the dough onto a work surface and knead, adding more water/flour needed to make the dough pliable. The dough should be a beautiful golden color and feel soft and supple. Form the dough into a ball.

-Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature for about 1 1/2hours. If it rises significantly in less time, you can move to the shaping step or place it in the refrigerator overnight if you plan to bake it the next day.

MAKE THE FILLING

-Using the bain marie, melt the chocolate and the butter. You do not need to melt it until silky smooth. Barely is enough.

-After you melt it, take it off the stove, then stir the cinnamon in.

-Spread the barely-melted mixture on a sheet of parchment paper or silicone baking mat, then refrigerate it until firm.

ASSEMBLING THE BABKA

-Roll the dough into a rectangle  and cover the rolled out dough with the chocolate. 

-Roll the dough into a log. You will need to hit it until it cracks into pieces so it will be easy to roll.

-Using a metal pastry blade, cut the log down the middle lengthwise.

-Cross one piece over the other, then continue to crisscross the pieces in both directions to form a braid. Sprinkle with more cinnamon if you wish.

-Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 2 hours or less, depending on how warm yor kitchen is, until the dough size has increased to about 1 1/2 times from its original size.

-Preheat the oven to 175C and bake for 35-45 minutes.

-The babka will begin to brown quickly because of the sugar content but it won’t burn.

Don't forget to let it cool for at least 90 minutes before serving (yeah RIGHT)

This recipe made a HUGE bread. It's not a problem though because this is out of this world delicious.

Let's see the crumb shot, shall we?

Omygodomygodomygod..

It's yeasty, chocolatey, soft, there's a hint of butter, of cinnamon, but subtle. This is the ultimate comfort bread, must I say. I mean, I've made brioche filled with chocolate, it's wonderful. But in brioche, the star is the butter. Here, every ingredient goes harmoniously together. Of course the chocolate stands out more than the other ingredients, but just a bit. It does not overpower though it looks dominant. 

Now off I go make coffee. Lovely Indonesian coffee. 

Cheers,

Amy

PS: This is a cure from Haruki Murakami's aftertaste.

Submitted to YeastSpotting

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Szechuan Chili Oil

If there is one condiment I would never share with anyone, it is chili oil.

Perhaps it is the reason why we love to go to Duck King so much, simply because the chili oil is great, if not wonderful. The best one I've had so far was at a small restaurant I used to go to when I was still doing office work. Heck it was a long time ago I already forget the name of the place and sadly it was replaced by Starbucks. Anyhow, I would refuse to go to a Chinese restaurant with average chili oil even when the dish is so stellar compared to Duck King. Chili oil makes a simple dish heavenly, I think.

I actually never bother to make my own chili oil because Duck King is only 10 minutes away from home. Not until yesterday.

My friend sent me a bunch of Szechuan peppercorn. It is quite hard to find it where I live. I have never cooked with it before, but I love the dishes that incorporate those particular peppercorns in. Having so much in my disposal, I immediately think of Mapo Tofu, Bon Bon Chicken, vegetable stir-fries, and many other Szechuan inspired dishes. But no, they have to wait far in line because Baby I am gonna make you sweat! With chili oil.

Adapted from bonappetit.com
Ingredients
Infused Oil:
1 litre vegetable oil
2-3 cinnamon sticks
1 whole garlic
3 inch ginger, the fatter the better
3 tbs coriander seeds
6 star anise
2 tbs green cardamom

Ground Chili:
225 gr dried chili
1/4-1/2 cup Szechuan peppercorns
---
3 tsp salt
3 tbs soy sauce

Directions:

-Bruise all the spices for the infused oil

-In a heavy bottomed pot, pour the oil, put the bruised ingredients in, then simmer on low heat for at least two hours.

**You want the garlic and the ginger just to fizz, not burn, not even brown.

Meanwhile...

-Place the dried chili on a pan and bake it in the oven for around 10 minutes on 150C. 

**This step is actually optional but definitely sane. If you buy your dried chili in a traditional market, chances are they do not keep it in tight container. So you wanna get rid of any ants or whatever living being lives there. It adds extra smokiness as well.

-Grind the chili and peppercorns. You don't want it to be too coarse or too fine it turns into powder.

-Place your ground chili in a big bowl, use either glass or stainless bowl, Mix the salt and soy sauce in.

After two hours.....

-Prepare a sieve

-Crank the heat up and let the ginger and the garlic furiously fizz.

-Pour the infused oil through the sieve. Be careful, it sizzles. 

Stir and let cool..

I am out of words.

It looks.. Demonic.. and judging from the time it took me to infuse the oil with that amount of spices, I'm not surprised that it is tantalizingly addictive. It is chili oil not like the one I've ever had. It has depth and character. It can even turn a humble instant noodle to a five star noodle dish. Toss it on your dumplings, on dim sum, on meat, on veggies, oh the endless possibilities!

If you're feeling crafty for the next holiday season, buy small mason jars and fill them with your own homemade Szechuan Chili Oil. Lovely gifts they would make. 

Okay, off I go now tossing some oil on poached eggs.

Have fun making it,

Amy

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Flax & Oat Sourdough

Passion? Obsession?

There is a very thin line separating the two. For people who have an OCD tendency, the line is often blurred and it is so easy to cross over to the other –not so pretty- side. My family thinks that my passion for bread has become an obsession. They do not mind though. At least we do not starve ;)

Whenever I see another sourdough recipe, if I can’t make it soon, I would think of it until it ingrains in my unconscious mind. Sometimes I even have a lucid dream where I ponder the recipe in my dream and then wake up only to think about that recipe. This unrealistic behavior would stop if the bread in mind is already kneaded and baked. Although when the result is not as imagined, the whole pondering process will start again. Devious, devious cycle!

But let’s not bore you with me "Lecter-ing" myself.

Lol! I can't help it. I'm a hard core Hannibal fan.

Anyhow, let’s talk about this sourdough that contains oats and flax seeds. This bread had been haunting me for some time. When I first saw the title, I was smitten and saved it right away. Sadly, I was so busy at that time I couldn’t make it as soon as I had hoped. So fast forward to several weeks later, I exorcised that demon.

Adapted from houseofbakes.com

Ingredients:

Levain

2 tbs unfed sourdough culture 

140 gr water

140gr bread flour

Dough

280 gr bread flour

112 gr whole wheat flour

130gr water

All of the levain

2 tsp salt

Soaker

¼ cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons flaxseeds

1 tbs poppy seeds, optional

Enough water to cover the oat/flax/poppy mixture

Direction:

Levain

Approximately 7 hours before making the dough, mix the sourdough culture and water until fully dispersed then add the flour. Cover with plastic and let rest.

Soaker

Mix the oats, flax, and water. Cover with plastic and let rest.

Make the Dough

-Mix the Levain with water, add flour and mix just until the flour is wet. It should look like a shaggy mess. Cover with plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.

-Add salt and Soaker then mix just until the salt and soaker is incorporated into the dough. Do not over mix here. It should not be a tight ball of dough yet.

-Stretch and fold every 30-45 minutes for 6 intervals. Cover with plastic while it rests.

-Shape however you want it and proof at room temperature for 1½-2 hours. 

-Preheat oven to 230C 

-Carefully plop your bread on the pan and make a slash.

-Bake for 40-45 minutes until a dark crust has formed.

-Let cool at room temperature for approximately one hour>> THIS, is the hardest part.

That is the picture of the loaf right after I took it out. 

Lo! 

This is the close up of the crust several minutes after it sat on room temperature.

The crust cracked slowly but sure because the temperature dropped from extremely high to just room temperature. The crumb was still 'cooking' on the inside because of the heat it retained and the crust was experiencing the gradual coolness from the outside. Being able to witness this process is a very rewarding experience. Bakers call it "Sing". Yes, you can hear the bread sing. The multiple crackling sound is very audible and it is the song this type of bread sings. 

About the excess flour on the crust, I tried substituting all purpose flour with rice flour for my couche. It worked WONDERS! The dough did not stick at all. Of course as you can also see, I put too much rice flour. But no problemo. It's a matter of aesthetic preference.

Let's check the crumbs..

--I failed to refrain myself from cutting it before it was completely cool. Sinner!

Creamy, delicate, delicious

It is a loaf you would want to bring on a picnic with your family and friends. Accompanied by some butter and a bottle of wine, if possible, it would make your day picture perfect. 

This recipe does take longer to make but it really is easier to handle because the dough is not that wet. The resulting bread is also seed packed, healthy, and very delicious it pays off all you hard work. Though next time I would add another 10 grams of so of water just like in the original recipe to have bigger holes in the crumbs. 

See? See?

That is why I love bread. Always, there is a room for improvement. 

But that is another project for another day, another glorious self-torturing day. Now let's just enjoy the bread with what we have in the pantry, in this case, Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette. Amiko's favorite.

Happy Baking,

Amy

Submitted to YeastSpotting

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Heavenly Panzanella

Every home bread baker will always have days when they bake more than they could eat.

Well, freezing is an option.

But what if you’re not in the mood to freeze your baked goods? Surely you’d feel guilty for throwing those wonderfully made bread. You can dice them, season them, and turn them into beautiful croutons for your soups and salads. You can also grate them, dry them, season them,  and make homemade bread crumbs that you can use to coat your choice of protein, or sprinkle on top of a bed of creamy mac’n’cheese. So many options, so many delicious ideas to turn days old bread into something special. But here’s my favorite, Panzanella.

"Panzanella...Summer salad of central Italy consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, basil, vinegar, and olive oil. Also pan molle (soft bread) and panbagnato (soaked bread). From the Latin panis (bread)."

---Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1997 (p. 178)

The first time I tried Panzanella, I was absolutely not impressed. The vinaigrette was too much it turned the bread into a mush and the tomatoes were not ripe enough. Under ripe tomatoes are best for making sambal, methinks. So I did not care about Panzanella for a long, long time. That is, until I start baking my own bread. With the abundance of bread I have at home, I have to have perfect Panzanella. Two key ingredients in making perfect Panzanella are very ripe tomatoes and bread with open crumbs that would gladly soak the lovely vinaigrette. 

There are many ways to make Panzanella. Some of the Florentine traditionalists actually just soak the bread in water and add some very ripe tomatoes, salt, and olive oil. They disapprove additional ingredients such as olives, mozzarella, white wine, capers, celery, red wine, red onion, cucumber, bell, anchovies, peppers, lemon juice, and garlic. But hey, with all due respect to the Fiorentino, I beg to differ. So let’s jump on my not mushy, simple, vegan, unbelievably delicious Panzanella band wagon!

Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Ingredients:

2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 red or white  onion, thinly sliced

A handful of basil leaves, coarsely chopped

3-5 black olives, drained and thinly sliced

1 tbs capers, drained and shred to pieces

French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (4-5 cups)

a pinch of salt

2-3 tbs vegetable oil, for pan frying

For the vinaigrette:

1 finely minced garlic

1 tsp Dijon mustard

3 tbs red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

Important note: DO NOT put too much salt in your vinaigrette!

Once the vinaigrette is poured on the salad and mixed well with the other ingredients, you will have additional saltiness from the capers and the olives. 

For the bread, you can cut the crust if it is already too hard. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and a pinch of salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed. You are doing this to prevent the bread from turning into an unappetizing mush.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, onion, basil, olives, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to marry.

Mamma Mia!

Stale bread+ripe tomatoes+vinaigrette= MANNA.

I use my sourdough bread here and if you happen to have sourdough bread at your disposal, all the better. It will take your Panzanella to the next level. If you want to add cucumber, fine. It will provide an extra crunch. Just make sure you take the seeds out first , otherwise it would make the bread too soggy and that's something you wanna avoid.

If you have never had Panzanella before, then I advise you to intentionally leave your bread to stale. Don't you dare touch it. Get some of the ripest tomatoes possible and by God! Make yourself some Panzanella and get lost in all its glory.

Bisous,

Amy

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