This is a fast, easy and delicious soup. It's great anytime of the year, but especially in the cooler seasons or when you are sick and need something hearty.
1 Onion, chopped
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 Carrots, diced
2 stalks Celery, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried Oregano
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp. dried Basil
1 tsp. Herbs De Provence (optional)
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes
2 Cups Red Lentils
8 cups water (I add chicken bouillon to make broth)
1/2 cup Spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp, Vinegar (white or balsamic)
Salt & Pepper to taste
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. I use my Pampered Chef food chopper to make quick work of all the chopping. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in lentils and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour (the longer the better!). When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper and more vinegar if desired. Sometimes I also top it with grated parmigiano romano cheese & freshly cracked black pepper. Serves six (at least!)
Focaccia
This is by far the best and easiest bread recipe I've ever gotten ahold of. We absolutely love it and I love that I can have a freshly baked focaccia in less than an hour from start to finish. I know that the instructions may look long and overwhelming, but they are just really detailed. This really is a simple recipe and you will be very pleased with it. There are also so many ways you can change it up. Stick with the basic recipe, but you can add whatever seasonings you like to it. When I made it this afternoon I added a tsp of garlic powder and a tsp of rosemary powder to the dough at the same time I added the flour and salt. Once it was shaped and ready to bake I sprinkled it with coarse sea salt & a sundried tomato seasoning as well as parmigiano romano cheese. You can also top it with sliced tomato, onion, etc.
Preheat oven to 500F
2 cups lukewarm water (85 to 95 F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour (like I said you can do half and half too)
2-3 teaspoons salt
2-3 teaspoons olive oil
Kosher or Sea Salt
Measure the water into a large bowl, Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until dissolved. Stir in 2 cups of the flour and the salt and stir briskly until smooth, about 2 minutes. With a strong wooden spoon or one of those rare mixing spoons with a big hole in the middle, stir in the remaining 2 cups of flour for about 2 minutes longer, just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and the flour is incorporated. The dough will be fairly wet and tacky (sticky), but when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a loose ball, you'll know the dough has been stirred sufficiently. If it seems too sticky, stir in an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour. *I've found that I always have to add in the extra flour, but test it first*
Same day method: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 30-40 minutes. Proceed with the shaping.
Overnight method: Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. The dough will rise in the frig and acquire flavor from the slower yeast action. Remove the dough 2 hours before shaping and let stand , covered, in a warm place. The dough will rise for the second time. Proceed with shaping.
To shape into focaccia: Preheat the oven to 500F. Oil one or two nonstick baking sheets (Side note: you can just dump it onto a pizza stone if you have one. That is what I always do. I have also split the dough in half and cooked it in 2 8-inch cake pans and that works nicely as well) Pour the dough onto your baking vehicle of choice, carefully scraping it from the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Brush the dough with 2 tsp of olive oil. To make the traditional focaccia with indentations, dip your fingers into cold water or olive oil and insert them straight down into the dough. Make holes in the dough by pulling it to the sides about 1 inch at a time. Pull the holes at random to form little craters all over with the pan showing through where you have put your fingers. As you work, stretch the dough into a 1-inch-thick oval. Brush the loaf with another tsp of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and whatever else. Then add any other desired toppings.
Focaccia does not need to rise, but if you forget it for a few minutes, don't worry. It will bake beautifully despite a little neglect.
To bake:
Place the pan(s) in the oven and reduce the temperature to 450F. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the focaccia has a nice, golden-brown color mixed with a little darker brown around the indented area. Cool on a wire rack. Cut focaccia into wedges or rectangles and serve warm!!
I know this is a lot of instructions, but I PROMISE you, this is SO easy to make and absolutely delish!! Enjoy!!
Taken from the book Daily Breads, No Need To Kneed
Please enjoy and let me know what you think :)
