Cook's Alphabet 'F'

Cook's Alphabet 'F'

This is the sixth in my series of 28 postings going through the entire alphabet, as it relates to cooks and cooking. As you can see, today I'm dealing with the letter 'F'.


The letter 'F' is, of course the sixth letter in the alphabet, and today's recipe is for a classic Italian bread, Focaccia:

Focaccia with Roesmary Leaves and Olives

7g (1/2 packet) dry yeast
120ml lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
180g plain flour
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
120ml cup cold water
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
80g black olives, pitted

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water and stir well then set aside for some 15 minutes, until it is foamy on top. Meanwhile place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Gradually stir in the yeast mixture and then the olive oil, salt and water, stirring all the while to form a stiff dough. Lightly flour your hands and knead the dough in the bowl for a minute before turning it out onto a floured board. Knead for about 15 minutes, until you have a silky dough then place in an oiled bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Gently knock the dough back and then place on an oiled baking tray before stretching the dough into a rectangular shape and using the tips of your fingers make indents in the surface of the dough. Brush with oil, sprinkle with sea salt, rosemary and olives. Then place in an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for about 20 minutes, until crisp and golden.

(This recipe reproduced, with permission, from the Celtnet Focaccia with Roesmary Leaves and Olives Recipe page. Which is part of the site's Italian Recipes collection)



Today's cooking term is Fricassée: Fricassée is a dish of chicken or vegetables cooked (usually on the stove-top) in a creamy white sauce. Often vermouth is added as a flavouring and the dish is traditionally served with rice. The dish is often accompanied by lightly-glazed onions and/or fried mushrooms.



For more information on cookery-associated terms and information beginning with the letter 'F' here are various links that may well be of interest:

Recipes beginning with 'F'
Spices beginning with 'F'
Herbs beginning with 'F'
Wild foods beginning with 'F'
Cook's glossary 'F'