Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia with Sausage and Veggies

Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia with Sausage and Veggies easy summer meal idea! Thu, 08 Aug 2024 23:57:49 GMT https://carmeninthegarden.substack.com/p/rosemary-sourdough-focaccia-with Today's newsletter is a quick one—I’ve been on the move quite a bit lately. You’ll find my latest weeknight recipe at the end. What I’ve been up to lately:

I teamed up with Emily from Food Lovers Diary to create a delicious herb-laminated pappardelle with fennel sausage, tomatoes, and fennel pollen straight from the garden. You can watch our cooking session here . It was a blast, and I always enjoy learning from talented chefs like Emily, who hosts regular food pop-ups in New York City that I can't wait to check out.

Nick and I headed up to Lompoc to visit our family winery, where we tasted our first estate Syrah, grown on our vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. We also stopped by our Funk Zone Outpost to discuss some exciting future projects.

I was recently featured in Better Homes and Gardens as an up-and-coming tastemaker. They asked me about my personal style and a few of my house rules. You can check out the article here .

I just finished Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow , but I found it a bit underwhelming. It felt like there was a lot of telling rather than showing. While I loved the concept, the characters, and the setting, the writing left me waiting for the story to really take off. On the other hand, I recently finished The Rachel Incident and absolutely loved it—it was quick, witty, and full of everything that keeps me entertained. I couldn’t put it down. If you're interested in following along with what I’m reading, you can always find me on Goodreads .

Last week, we had a photoshoot at our restaurant, Cellar Hand, to promote our upcoming brunch program, and everything was delicious. If you’re in San Diego, be sure to check it out—you can make reservations here .

We’re in the Carmel/Santa Cruz area this weekend for a wedding. If you have any must-try recommendations for food, drinks, shopping, or sights, let me know!

And lastly, a bit of housekeeping: I’ll be traveling internationally again during the last two weeks of August. You’ll still receive this newsletter, but I wanted to give you a heads-up in case of any delays.

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Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia with Sausage and Veggies

This recipe combines the comforting flavors of a freshly baked sourdough rosemary focaccia with a hearty sheet pan meal of fennel and hot Italian sausages, roasted eggplant, and tomatoes. The focaccia comes out golden and crisp, perfect for soaking up the juices from the caramelized veggies and savory sausages. This straightforward, one-pan dinner is easy to prepare and works well for a weeknight casual gathering. The simple ingredients and unfussy preparation let the fresh flavors shine without any unnecessary frills. Serves 4, generously.

Ingredients for the Focaccia:

500g bread flour

350g water

100g active sourdough starter

10g sea salt

½ cup olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

Flaky sea salt, for topping

Ingredients for the Sausage and Veggie Bake:

4 fennel sausage links

4 hot Italian sausage links

2 medium eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes

4 Roma tomatoes, quartered

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Mix 500g bread flour and 350g water until no dry flour remains. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Add 100g active sourdough starter and 10g sea salt. Mix thoroughly. Perform a series of stretch and folds every 30 minutes for 2 hours.

Cover the dough and let it ferment at room temperature for 4 hours.

Coat a quarter baking sheet or 10 inch cast iron skillet with ¼ cup olive oil. Transfer the dough to the sheet or skillet, gently stretching to fit. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil on top and dimple the dough with your fingers. Sprinkle with rosemary. Cover and let rise for 2 hours.

On a sheet pan lined with parchment, combine eggplant, Roma tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Arrange the vegetable mixture on a separate sheet pan. Nestle the fennel and hot Italian sausages among the vegetables.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over the focaccia dough and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Place both the focaccia and the sheet pan with sausage and vegetables in the oven. Bake both the focaccia and sausage and vegetables for 25-30 minutes, until the focaccia is golden brown and crisp and sausages are fully cooked and vegetables are tender and caramelized.

Remove the focaccia, sausages and vegetables from the oven. Enjoy the sausage and veggie bake with slices of the freshly baked focaccia!

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