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I bet I’m in the minority this week since I don’t have a Thanksgiving / Fall dish to post today. I was overcome with a serious craving for olives and I’m going to blame it on Food52. Have you ever visited their site or signed up for the weekly emails? They are very creative and seem to be putting a new look on recipes and wonderfully unique gadgets. About a month ago they sent out a post with a recipe for an olive sandwich. It was amazing in it’s simplicity and very appealing and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. I’ve thought about many different variations to the recipe like adding celery and other vegetables to make it more like a muffaletta olive salad. Then it came to me while shopping in my favorite grocery store (Wegman’s). They have an olive bar (I should take a picture) with homemade hummus, a tremendous variety of olives, and even roasted garlic. I scooped up a container full of peppers, olives and roasted garlic and headed home to cure my craving.
If you have a good basic Focaccia recipe you can make it into almost anything. It could be a thick crust pizza, a simple olive oil bread or even a lightly sweet fruit bread. Today it’s my cure for all things pizza and olives. I sliced up olives, red onion and added some sun dried tomatoes then picked some fresh thyme from our garden.
Once the dough rises, press it to fit a 13×9 inch lightly oiled baking pan. Dimple the dough all over with your fingers and drizzle with olive oil. Add the topping and press them gently into the dough.
Bake until golden brown then transfer to a rack to cool.
Sprinkle lightly with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese if desired.
This did the trick and I can now move on past my obsession with olives! I really love this recipe and will absolutely make it again.
Olive, Onion & Sun Dried Tomato Focaccia
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast (¼ ounce)
- ½ teaspoon honey
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ red onion, sliced
- 3 sun dried tomatoes, sliced thin (packed in oil, drained and patted dry with a paper towel)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 cup assorted olives, halved and pitted
- 10 cloves roasted garlic, optional
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the water and honey. Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow it to stand for about 5 minutes or until foamy.
- Add 1 cup of the flour and ¼ cup of olive oil and mix lightly with a wooden spoon. Set aside to rest for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining flour and salt and knead until smooth. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm location, free from drafts, for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a 13x9 inch rimmed baking pan.
- Place the risen dough in the pan and press to fit. Dimple the dough with your fingers and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Let the dough rise again until puffed, about 20 minutes.
- Lightly press the toppings into the dough. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Well let’s talk about the weather. Here in Virginia we have our first freeze warning with temperatures dipping into the low 30’s. We didn’t get any snow but I think they did in the mountains south and west of us. Is it cold where you are? Are you thinking chili or stew is in your future? I love fleece weather but the Daylight Saving Time change is pretty yucky. It gets dark so early now.
We had over 200 trick-or-treaters for Halloween this year. I ran out of candy with kids in the driveway. I don’t know where they are coming from but I know we don’t have that many living in the neighborhood. Grandson Isaac really enjoyed it this year. He was a puppy and I didn’t get one good photo because I was busy handing out candy!
Thanks so much for stopping by – hope you have a terrific week.
Tricia
Kristin M
Quick, easy and delicious! Worth it to add the optional roasted garlic. My family loves it – Thanks!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Kristin! So happy you enjoyed it.
sue/the view from great island
This is so beautiful, I can’t decide what to pin! The colors and shapes are incredible. I love my foccaccia recipe, but I will try yours, it looks a little bit thinner and more delicate than mine — I wish I could walk right in to these photos and grab a slice!
Monica
Food52 just gets better and better, doesn’t it? I always look forward to new collections from Provisions. : )
This is a lovely post – those pics are so vivid. My husband really loves olives and just looking at this, I know there’s just so much flavor in this focaccia and you know we’re all chasing flavor. And it’s perfect for soup season!
Tricia Buice
Yes it does Monica. We are always on the same page! If you get down this way (Washington DC) I hope you’ll look us up. Have a great week!
David crichton
What a wonderful bread, another great topping to try for my staple homemade loaf.
Tricia Buice
Thanks David – and thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Have a great week and enjoy the olives 🙂
Kitchen Belleicious
not only does it look delicious but it looks beautiful. I love the colors the olives and sun dried tomatoes bring to the top of it and i bet it tastes so rich and salty from the olives. I love salty!
Tricia Buice
I love colorful food and salty too – this was the perfect fix all around! Thanks for stopping by!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
I bring the soup over and let’s lunch together! This looks so comforting and tasty.
Tricia Buice
I would eat anything you put in front of me Angie! Have a lovely week 🙂
Chris @ The Café Sucré Farine
Besides a trip to the sunny Mediterranean, this looks like the perfect way to satiate a olive craving. I do love that you can add any flavorings/seasonings/toppings to focaccia. I’ve never made one featuring olives but you’ve inspired me!
Tricia Buice
I guess I could handle a trip to the Mediterranean – that sounds like a great place to eat olives. How fun would that be? We need a blogger meet-up at a cafe in some exotic location – such fun we would have!
Becky Green
Tricia!
This looks WONDERFUL! I will have to try this one too! Olives are VERY GOOD for you too! They help with cholesterol I’m told! 😀 We got some if that snow! Brrrrr!!!! The kitties didn’t want to go out! LOL I am still getting used to the daylight savings time! AND Thank You for visiting my blog again! 😀
Tricia Buice
Snow already Becky? I am soooo sorry 🙁 I love the fall and am not in a hurry for winter. Hope you have a lovely week!
cheri
Hi Tricia, I could eat this whole thing by myself, love this combination of ingredients.
Tricia Buice
I’m with you Cheri – my husband and I made quick work of this whole pan! I was feeling pretty good about myself that it wasn’t covered with gooey cheese – haha. Love it!
Susan
I absolutely love olives too, Tricia, and this sounds like the perfect cure for a craving! A beautiful focaccia!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Susan – hope you have a wonderful week.