Roasted Cherry Tomato & Garlic Focaccia

 

Liguria Bakery in San Francisco makes the best focaccia in the city and I've been going there for years.  They only sell focaccia, nothing else, so you know their signature product is top notch.  My favorite flavor is the pizza focaccia with it's tangy marinara sauce on top, but you can't go wrong with any of the flavors.  I'd been craving the classic Italian salad of prosciutto and melon (prosciutto e melone) and wanted to have some focaccia to go with it.

 

Being too lazy to get in my car and make the drive to North Beach (and deal with parking) I decided to look for a quick and easy focaccia recipe; one that didn't require  hours of preparation or a starter.  A quick internet search and I found this one from ATK Young Chefs' Club for Roman-style focaccia.   Add in some cherry tomatoes that were on their last leg and I made this fantastic Roasted Cherry Tomato and Garlic Focaccia.

 

Seriously, anyone can make this focaccia and yield amazing results.  The recipe is written for kids so that should tell you how easy it is to make.  [My only updates were to omit rosemary and add a mixture of halved cherry tomatoes, chopped garlic, olive oil, herbs and salt & pepper as the topping.]  The bread's texture is super light and fluffy and the tomatoes and garlic really elevate it to the next level.  It was the perfect accompaniment to the salad and dare I say could rival that of Liguria's famous focaccia?  I'll definitely be making this recipe again.

Tomato Galette

My co-worker Coltin brought in a bounty of tomatoes he'd grown in his garden.  Never one to pass up on lovely produce I grabbed a few of the big, beefy ones.  First thing that popped in to my mind was to use them in a Tomato Galette.  I'd bookmarked a recipe from Cook's Country but didn't have all the ingredients so I improvised a bit and it still turned out delicious.    

I had plans to use up some leftover roasted vegetables by making a quiche.   Not wanting to make two different crusts for the quiche and the galette I saved myself some time and just doubled the quiche crust recipe.  It's super buttery and flaky and bakes up beautifully.

The galette itself couldn't have been easier to throw together.  Slice up the tomatoes, lightly salt them and then drain in a colander for at least 30 minutes.  This extracts most of the excess juice that otherwise would be the bane of any flaky pastry.   No soggy bottoms over here!  Add some cheese, shallots, garlic and thyme and you've got a gorgeous looking galette.

This is a fantastic option for a vegetarian but meat eaters will love it too!  Add a salad and you've got yourself a delicious meal.