Healthy January 0.3

Sourdough wholemeal focaccia with onions and radicchio

Like many, I have been playing with sourdough since the beginning of the first lockdown in England. It kept me busy as it is like a pet to care for. Anthony Bourdain in his book Kitchen Confidential mentioned several chefs giving names to their starter. One of his colleagues used to call it the B****

Have you given a name to yours yet?  

This recipe is sort of an adaptation of a regional recipe from my area in Sardinia, Pratzira with onions (Onions focaccia). Pratzira comes in different flavours and shapes, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms and so on. 

I absolutely love the onions version with its sweet taste and slippery texture. Add some tasty radicchio leaves and you are in for a treat!  

If you do not know how to make natural yeast, there are many resources online bit I will share the recipe with you in the near future.  Check this space.

A bit about nutrition…

When I consulted my blog partner Giulia about this recipe for our healthy January. She said “Ok, we are halfway through our detox month and, therefore, we can allow ourselves to cook something scrumptious and slightly higher in carbs than our previous recipes. “

The star of these focaccine, though, are the veggies — radicchio and onions. The purple-and-white type of leaf vegetable can be eaten raw, mixed in into salads and contorno, but it is AMAZING also if cooked. Radicchio, also known as Italian Chicory is packed with plant compounds —especially in its red part— which act as antioxidants on free-radicals and can improve circulation.
Onions have been seen in research to have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, to act as a prebiotic on our gut flora, and to be able to balance the immune system and improve heart health.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224407002282
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2011.646364

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Prep Time: 45 minutes + 

leavening time about 14 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 15 hours 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

210g strong wholemeal flour 

150ml water

10ml olive oil

5g salt

70g sourdough starter 

360g white onion

170g radicchio

60ml olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

First thing you will need to activate your sourdough starter by feeding it on the night before using it. 

The second step is often called by the experts as “autolyse”. 

In a small bowl, mix the water, wholemeal flour, and oil. Cover the bowl with a cloth and set aside for 1 hour. This is to allow the enzymes in the flour to activate.

Then add in the natural yeast and knead for 5 minutes to form a smooth dough. Now add in the salt and knead for another 2 minutes. 

Let it rest for 8-12 hours or until it is doubled in size. This time can vary significantly depending on the temperature in your kitchen and of your ingredients, and how active is your starter. 

A generall tip is to check the consistency of the dough, it should be bouncy and light.

Slice your onions into thin rings. Then cook them in a pan with 30ml of olive oil for about 10 minutes or until translucent. 

Stir constantly to avoid burning them. 

Let the onions cool down. Keep some aside, you will need these to decorate your focaccine. Then gently incorporate the rest into your dough, folding the edges of the dough on top of it a couple of times.

Put the dough onto a floured surface and portion it into 8. Then shape each one into a small ball, tucking the sides in with your hands. Dust some flour all around and on the top of each ball rubbing it genlty with your hands. Cover them with a cloth and let them raise again for about one and a half hours.

Preheat the oven to 220 ºC

Now place each ball into a greased baking tray and flatten each one using your finger tips. Pressing genlty and avoiding knocking out all the air. 

Cut the radicchio into small wedges to fit into your focaccine. Place some of the radicchio leaves on the top of each focaccina. 

Bake for 10 minutes. Then drizzle the remaining olive oil on the top and cook for further 10 minutes or until is gold.