OmniVeggie

On Thursday after breakfast I cleaned out the various bits and bobs that had been accumulating in recycled plastic containers on our shelf of the refrigerator. A tablespoon of minced ginger? Given that we make Asian-type foods once in a blue moon, what in the world was I thinking when I thought it would be a good idea to save that? Radishes, carrots, fennel, lettuce, chickpeas? You are my lunch. 1 cup of leftover mashed redskin (skins on, thankyouverymuch) rosemary potatoes? You need to be something more, because you were good that night Matthias made roasted chicken, but you are going to need some spiffing up if you are going to get eaten again. And because my mother is the daughter of a farmer, I learned a long and lasting lesson about the evils of wasted food, despite the repugnance of some leftovers.

My father would have seen this mash as a latke waiting to happen. I saw bread - rich, squishy, moist, toothsome, herby, and a little salty. And so, like the good little baker I am, I turned to the inturwebs, which lead me to the very trustworthy Serious Eats.

I turned up a recipe from Anissa Helou's Savory Baking From the Mediterranean for potato focaccia. I am a seasoned bread baker. It happens at least once a week in our apartment, kneading is a task that gives me satisfaction like none other, and while some people are addicted to chocolate, or wine, or jellybeans, I fully admit, with not an ounce of shame, that I find a day without bread to be woefully empty. Also, you should know that while I am not a terribly confident person, I know for certain that I can look at two things in this world and take pride in making sense of them: baking recipes and art.

But, everyone should be shaken from her pedestal occasionally, or so the universe believes, and lo, this recipe shook me to my core. I made soup as a backup to the veggies we were to be having along with the bread, just in case things ended disastrously, as I was sure that they would after the frightful, adhesive mess this dough became in its middle stage.

Rest assured, this story has a happy ending, and you should rescue your leftover mashed potatoes, give them a kiss with some fresh herbs, rub them in olive oil, and look at them proudly when they come out of the oven golden, crusty, and with more character than you could ever hope to have bestowed upon them.



We had this lovely bread with some zucchini, fennel, mushrooms, and red peppers that we dusted with fresh thyme, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil and cooked on the grill pan. A nice spring supper, indeed. Disaster averted, confidence regained (for now).



Rosemary Focaccia Bread
adapted from Anissa Helou's Savory Baking From the Mediterranean
Ingredients

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and shaping
1 1/2 teaspoons fine kosher salt or sea salt
5 ounces mashed potatoes*
Extra-virgin olive oil
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, and stir until creamy.

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, and make a well in the center. Add the mashed potatoes and the yeast, and, using fingertips, bring in a little of the flour. Gradually add 2/3 cup warm water and bring in the remaining flour as you go along. Knead briefly to make a rough ball of dough.

(This is the step where things started to look horribly awry to me. The dough was wretchedly sticky, and could not be coaxed together with extra flour. I feared my potatoes were too moist. But just make the best mangled little ball that you can and be patient. It will come together.)

Dust a work surface with flour. Sprinkle the ball of dough with a little extra flour and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Invert the bowl over the dough and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes more, sprinkling with extra flour if the dough is sticky, until the dough is smooth and somewhat soft.

Grease a 12-inch round pie plate with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the pie plate, and flatten and stretch the dough by hand to cover the bottom of the plate; the dough should be about 1/2 inch thick. Cover with a wet but not dripping kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours. The dough should have doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Press with fingertips on the focaccia to make dimples all over. Brush generously with olive oil. Crack some sea salt and black pepper over the top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the focaccia is well risen and golden brown all over. Serve warm, or transfer to a wire rack to let cool and serve at room temperature.

*we make our mashed potatoes with 5 small red skinned potatoes, skins still on please, with 1 head of roasted garlic, 1 sprig of finely chopped rosemary, and about 1/4 cup of organic heavy cream, and a knob of butter, all mashed together coarsely