WHB - Thyme. Wait no, Rosemary!

Posted on March 25, 2006


Let me be clear about something. Until recently the only herbs I ever used came from jars. And even then, I barely paid attention to the shapes and colors of them. I suppose if I had, I would have noticed that I was buying the wrong herb at the market the other day. As reality turns out though, I didn’t realize until Dum-Da-DUM! I saw Kalyn’s photo of thyme on her website this weekend. Be sure to check there for the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup late Sunday.

My thyme wasn’t thyme at all.

But good things can come from mishaps. And a quick run to the kitchen assured my mussel lobster chowder a little taste of dried thyme in addition to the ah-hem, rosemary, that I had already added.

I knew something was up when the recipe wanted me to chop the “thyme” and I just couldn’t figure out how to chop needles like that.

The good news is that the chowder was a hit. And the rosemary on the foccacia I made was also a hit. So really, all’s well that ends well. In the photo you’ll notice that I made several varieties of this, but here is the recipe for just one.

Herby Cheese Mini Foccacia
serves 6-8
Adapted from Home Cooking Baking & Desserts

2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups unbleached white bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 envelope active dry yeast, or equivalant.
1 cup lukewarm water

Topping
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzerella cheese
olive oil
sea salt

Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl. Add the olive oil and water and knead into a dough until just together.

Transfer dough to an electric mixer bowl. Attach the dough hook and knead on low for 8 minutes. A smooth ball should be formed.

Transfer dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Once risen, punch dough for 1-2 minutes. Divide into four balls.

Brush a cookie sheet with olive oil, place four balls on sheet and press round to form rounds. Use your fingers to push down onto dough, creating a dimpled appearance.

In a small bowl, combine cheeses and herbs. Sprinkle evenly on four rounds. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Salt to taste.

Cover with kitchen towel and let rise for an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove towel and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Move foccacia to a wire cooling rack and let cool. Cut into pieces and serve.

Read the full post at Cucina Bella, a family cooking blog.

This feed contains copyrighted photos and text from Cucina Bella. If you are not reading this material in a feeds aggregator or by e-mail subscription, the site you are viewing may be guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact sarah.caron (at) gmail (dot) com.

» Filed Under side dishes, spices/herbs Stumble It!

Comments

3 Responses to “WHB - Thyme. Wait no, Rosemary!”

  1. Kalyn on March 26th, 2006 4:57 pm

    Ah well, they are both delicious. Don’t feel bad at all. I’ve been growing and using herbs for more than ten years and I still come across things I’ve never heard of or can’t recognize all the time.

  2. sher on March 27th, 2006 9:01 pm

    Yumm. They look fabulous no matter what you call them!!

  3. Sarah on March 27th, 2006 9:05 pm

    Thanks Kalyn and Sher!

    They were actually so good, I am making more this week for company on Wednesday. I never repeat recipes this often!

Leave a Reply