The Great Escape Artist... A Mediterranean Menu for the Beach

Mediterranean Menu for the Beach

Rosemary & Roasted garlic bread rustica

Robust garlic, fragrant rosemary & tangy Parmesan give complexity to this dense, rustic round.

antipasto skewers

All of the flavors of Italy transformed into a sophisticated finger food.

feta stuffed marinated olives

Simply stuff extra large green olives with feta & toss with warmed olive oil & crisped slices of garlic. The oil then doubles as a bread dip. Best served at room temperature or slightly warmed, these green gems possess a lovely contrast with the sharp olive notes playing against the pungency of the feta.

Gourmet cheese cubes

Cubes of cheese go for a skinny dip in honey or jam before they get tumbled in chopped nuts or smoked paprika.

Toasted lemon pound cake with tuaca stone-fruit

Ohhhhhhh Tuaca, how I love thee! Cubes of lemon pound cake are alternately skewered with drunken stone-fruit & toasted to perfection over an open fire.

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This bread is made to be torn & shared. Take the irregular hunks & dip them in warm olive oil & crisped garlic.

Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Bread Rustica

serves 4-makes 1 round

1 cake of fresh compressed yeast or 1 package of dry active yeast
3 1/2-4 cups bread flour (I use locally milled whenever possible or King Author)
1 head of garlic
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. finely minced, fresh rosemary
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil (for oiling bowl)
1 tbsp. fine cornmeal (optional)

1.) Poolish (see notes below). In a 1-quart glass measure, crumble 1/4 fresh cake or sprinkle 1/2 tsp. dry yeast over 1/2 cup of cool water. Let it stand for 5 minutes to get creamy. Stir in 1/2 cups flour until smooth. Let it stand in a warm place (80F) covered tightly with plastic wrap then covered with a tea towel until bubbly & doubled in size, 2-2 1/2 hours.

2.) Meanwhile, roast the head of garlic in a 350f oven until soft. Let it cool, cut of the top & squeeze out cloves. Set aside.

3.) In a bowl, add remaining yeast to 3/4 cup cool water & let it stand for 5 minutes. Stir in poolish, garlic, cheese, rosemary & salt then add 1 cup of flour. Beat with a spoon until stretchy & shiny, about 5 minutes. stir in an additional 3/4 cup flour until well combined. Scrape dough out onto a floured surface (or mix in a Kitchenaid using a dough hook) and knead until smooth & elastic, about 15-20 minutes adding as little flour as possible to prevent sticking. Shape into a smooth ball.

4.) Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat, smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, cover with a tea towel & allow dough to rise in a warm place (80f) until doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

5.) Punch down dough with a floured fist & knead a few times in the bowl to release excess air. Turn smooth side up, cover & allow for a second rising (you may skip this step if time does not permit but it does give a deeper complexity to the bread) about 1 hour.

6.) Scrape out dough onto floured surface & shape into a smooth ball. Make 3 slashes in the top with a shape knife & place on a sheet pan prepared with a little olive oil or non-stick spray, sprinkle dust with cornmeal if desired. Cover with a tea towel. Heat oven to 400f. Place bread in hot over & mist down the walls of the oven vigorously with water using a spray bottle (avoid hitting the oven light) & quickly shut the door. In 5 minutes mist again. Bake until deep brown. Bread should have a hollow sound when tapped, about 35-40 minutes.

Poolish; usually consisting of water, flour & yeast, is classified as a wet sponge. A pre-ferment. Using a poolish gives you a greater depth of flavor & maturity in a shorter period of time. I often do my poolish the day before & refrigerate it instead of leaving it in a warm place. This gets one step out of the way & the cold fermentation, in my opinion yields a tangier sponge as the process is slower & gentler. You can actually make it up to 3 days in advance.