SW: Minestrone & Focaccia (Guest Post!)

Dudes! I know you're going to read this and say, "Audrey, how is it possible that you love us oh-so much? You got your friend John to come back and share MORE recipes with us! You are a magical, lovely human being that deserves to be crowned and fattened up with red velvet cake." 

Well, if you insist! I do love me some red velvet....

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Marvelous Minestrone
It's great to be back for my third Soup Week guest appearance! My soup last year focused on one particular vegetable, and a very small number of ingredients. This year we'll clean out the fridge and/or the pantry and make a soup that can contain quite a few ingredients: minestrone. This is a great slow cooker recipe to start mid-afternoon on a weekend, but can also be made in a stockpot in an hour or so.

Minestrone is a classic Italian peasant soup from the "cucina povera" ("kitchen of the poor") tradition. Minestrone is a class of Italian soup that is thick and hearty, more like a stew than a thinner vegetable zuppa. So while I'll be showing you a typical tomato-centric version, the essence of minestrone really is that it is made from whatever you have on hand, and whatever is in season. There are no rules, just an infinite variety of soups!

Ingredients

• 1 small onion (or half a larger one), diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 28 oz can of crushed, diced, or whole tomatoes
• 32 oz broth (vegetable, chicken, or beef); or use bouillon cubes
• 8 oz water
• 15 oz white beans (cannelini, navy, etc.)
• 15 oz chickpeas
• pasta, about 1/2 lb
• sea salt
• black pepper
• dried herbs (basil, oregano, chives, parsley)
• olive oil

Procedure

1. If you're using dried beans, you'll need to plan ahead and soak them overnight or par-boil them.
2. Dice the onion and carrots.
3. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in your stockpot (or a saute pan, if making the soup in a slow cooker).
4. Saute the onion and carrots until they soften and the onions just begin to caramelize.
5. Add the tomatoes, broth, and water to the stockpot. (Chop or crush the tomatoes first if you're using whole ones.)
6. Add the beans, onions, carrots, herbs, and pepper, and heat to boiling.
7. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
8. Add the pasta (or rice, if using) about 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
9. Season with salt when fully cooked.

Substitutions/Additions

• Pasta: use whatever you prefer, but especially those remnants in your pantry that are just not enough for a regular meal. Keep in mind that certain types and shapes retain their structural integrity better than others, especially if you have leftovers to save. I typically use orecchiette (which are thick and somewhat shell-shaped), and a handful of large (aka "Israeli") couscous.
• Meat: The version above is meatless, but you can add some cooked sausage, diced chicken, turkey, ham, lamb, or duck.
• What else is available locally at this time of year that you could use? Try some potatoes or rice instead of pasta, leeks (not too much, to keep the flavor from overwhelming), a little shredded kale or spinach, peas, or any root vegetables or squash that would complement your other ingredients. Celery makes a frequent appearance in minestrone recipes, but is not essential if you don't already have some (although it's a great way to use it up if you do).

Bread
As the personal baker to The Audrey, I of course also have an easy bread recipe to accompany this and other soups. The dough can be used for a variety of breads (baguettes, boules, even pizza), but we'll focus here on focaccia, since it is easiest for those new to breadmaking, and requires no specialized kitchen gear. It does require a few words, though, if you've never made bread before. If you have, skip to the Procedure section.

Focaccia is a rustic Italian flatbread whose name comes from the Latin focus, or hearth. The oven was the center of the house or the village, and bread was central to the diet, baked fresh daily. Like minestrone, there are endless ways to make focaccia, but what I describe here is a simplified approach.

Slight digression: One of the key ideas of modern artisan bread (otherwise known as "bread" or "real bread") is a long, slow fermentation of the dough, to allow the biochemical reaction of the yeast to consume the sugars in the flour and release more flavor. Factory bread is typically mixed and immediately extruded through a machine, which is (partly) why it's like eating pillow stuffing. The good news is that we can quickly reanimate those hardworking little dried yeasts and then leave them alone to "git 'er done!" while we do other things. This means we can have great bread with very little actual effort, with the only drawback being that we have to plan ahead a little. At least a day. (See "Timing", below.)

Ingredients

(makes two large focaccia or other breads)
• 20 oz (about 4 cups) bread flour (also called "high-gluten" or "strong" flour); or substitute all-purpose. You can also substitute in 10-20% whole wheat flour if you'd like.
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1.5 tsp salt (you can use a little less if you'd like, since you'll be sprinkling some on top)
• 14 oz Water
• Olive oil

Procedure

Dough-making Day
1. Whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together in a large mixing bowl (one that's about four times the size of the flour; if you have one with a lid that's best).
2. Add the water, and mix with a large, strong spoon (wooden spoons are good) until the dough forms a stiff ragged ball. Use the spoon in more of a chopping motion as needed to combine remaining dry flour.
3. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes so the flour absorbs ("autolyses") the water.
4. Wet your hands and use them to continue to mix the dough in the bowl until it becomes a smooth ball and all of the flour in the bowl has been incorporated (about 3-5 minutes). Avoid stretching the dough, just squeeze it and fold it and generally move it around ("knead it"). Stretching the dough causes it to become more difficult to work. Note that the dough will be very very sticky -- this is what you want, really! Do not add more flour!
5. Once you have a smooth ball of dough, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a lid (such as a plate, or, like I do, a stretchy shower cap!) and put it in the refrigerator.

Bread-making Day
1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before baking.
2. Oil a large (~16x12) sheet pan (with sides) or 9x13 glass baking dish.
3. Divide the dough in half, and on a large plate or cutting board, re-form the dough into a ball by lightly pulling out and folding in the dough from opposite sides, until it has firmed up.
4. Place the dough ball in the center of the baking pan and begin to flatten it out toward the sides. You'll have to stop and let the dough relax for a minute a few times. You eventually want to end up with a uniformly-thick piece of dough that fills the pan.
5. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the surface of the dough, spread it evenly with your fingers, and then use your fingertips to dimple the dough all over. This will keep it from rising too much as it bakes.
6. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let the dough rise undisturbed for about an hour. (Note: this would be a great time to start making some soup!)
7. If not making two focaccia, return the other half of the dough to the bowl, cover, and return to the refrigerator. It will be good for up to about 5 days. If you have leftover soup, make another focaccia, or try making a pizza, a couple of baguettes, or a large loaf of Italian bread.
8. After the dough has risen for an hour, set a shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400F.
9. Sprinkle sea salt over the top of the dough.
10. Bake for approx. 15-25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Variations

• Add some dried rosemary to the dough when you are shaping it. So tasty!
• You can add toppings of various kinds: herbs, tomatoes, olives, etc. Timing Let's say you're reading this on Thursday, when it's published, and you want to have some nice warm focaccia with minestrone on Saturday or Sunday. A timeline could be: mix the dough today or tomorrow, and let it ferment in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Take it out a couple of hours before you begin making the soup and let it warm up. Follow the timing above from there.
•  If this is all too much for you, you might consider trying my cornbread recipe from last year's Soup Week. It's in the same spirit of improvisation as the minestrone soup, and you can use some polenta if you want to be all Italian and stuff.

Enjoy!

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John isn't lying. He really is my personal baker. The best part of this arrangement is that he brings me delicious baked goods because he is nice. I bring very little to the table except my delightful wit and pink hair. (Occasionally I bring my own baked goods or enchiladas.) Dudes. I strongly suggest becoming friends with a baker. They will make you yummy things if you are nice.