I really don’t like wasting food.
That doesn’t mean I don’t do it (with regret and all too often), but it does drive me a little crazy when I have to throw something out.
Our filled focaccia is a quick and easy way to use up bits and pieces in the fridge. It’s made with bakers yeast, which makes it a very quick dough, and one that can be thrown together on the spur of the moment. I’ll often make this when we have last minute guests for lunch.
Today, I opened the fridge and found a little ricotta cheese, a piece of Cheddar, and a wedge of Manchego, all leftover from our brunch with the cool kids. There was also a bag of turkey breast offcuts that our mate Johnny had kindly given us, and a handful of organic figs from Pete’s muesli stash.
The basic dough recipe doesn’t change, and you could really throw in anything you like, providing you don’t mess around with the liquid quantities too much. It works particularly well with leftover deli meats, cheeses and antipasto.
- 1kg bakers flour
- 640g water
- 20g dried/instant yeast
- 14g fine sea salt
- 100g extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for drizzling on top)
- flaky sea salt (for scattering)
- deli meats, leftover cheese, dried figs and antipasto (any combination thereof)
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast and fine sea salt. Stir in the add-ins – I used grated hard cheeses (about 250g), chopped turkey breast (about 200g), half a cup of ricotta and eight dried figs, cut into pieces.
2. Add the water and oil. Squelch everything together with a clean hand. Scrape off your hand, then cover the bowl and allow to rest for half an hour.
3. Uncover and give the dough a brief knead in the bowl – this should only take a minute or so. Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm spot until it’s doubled in size (this should take an hour or so, longer if the weather is cool).
4. Preheat the oven to maximum. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
5. Turn the dough out onto an oiled surface and divide it into two. Push and stretch each half into a rectangle and place it on a lined baking tray. Drizzle over the extra oil, and sprinkle with the flaky sea salt. Allow to prove for another 20 minutes or until the dough has puffed up slightly.
6. Dimple the top of each focaccia with your fingers, pushing all the way to the bottom of the dough. Reduce the oven to 220C with fan, and bake for 20 minutes, or until dark brown (start checking at the 15 minute mark).
We took one of the focaccias to Johnny’s factory, where it was shared between his staff. The other one fed Pete, Big Boy and I for lunch. That’s not bad value for the $2 in flour and oil it cost to make them! Best of all, I didn’t have to throw out the cheeses, and the offcuts (which in turn are a reflection of Johnny’s reluctance to waste anything) were free.
We still waste more food than we’d like to, but we’re working on it. It’s certainly easier now that we have the garden (where we can pick only what we need for a meal) and the chooks and worms (who effectively recycle much of our waste into eggs and fertiliser).
Sydney chef Stefano Manfredi has written a very interesting blogpost on the subject of waste in high end restaurants. It’s a fascinating read and gives some insight into how much food is wasted in the name of “art”.
How do you deal with leftovers at your place?
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