Community Magazine November 2019

Style SPIRIT & FORTHEWOMANOFTODAY 66 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE BEEF FOCACCIA WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS Whenever I eat out, I always ask what’s the most popular dish on the menu. My reasoning is that if everyone else is ordering it, it must be good. Secondly, the dish has to be fresh since it’s being made multiple times a day. On a recent trip to Israel, my husband and I got a table at ‘Lechem Basar’ in Jerusalem. We sat adjacent to the kitchen, and while looking over the menu and deciding what to order, we couldn’t help but notice that one particular dish was being brought out by the dozens. It just kept on coming out. So, when the waitress came to take our order, I didn’t have to ask what the most popular dish was - I just asked her for that delicious looking meat pie. She told us that it is the beef focaccia and it is definitely the most ordered item on the menu. We devoured it in minutes and with every bite I knew that I couldn’t wait to recreate it back at home. • 1 pizza dough, defrosted • 1 lb. ground beef • 1 onion diced • 5 tbsp. canola oil • 2 red peppers, sliced into strips • 2 cloves crushed garlic • 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes • 2 tbsp. kosher salt • 1 cup pitted kalamata olives • 2 tbsp. fresh parsley • Pinch of Maldon salt INGREDIENTS: Serves 6 ONCE T UPON T thyme a 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In a flat baking tray, place peppers, 1 tbsp. salt, 2 tbsp. canola oil, and garlic. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes and set aside. 3. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tbsp. oil and add diced onions. Cook for 5 minutes. 4. Add ground beef and 1 tbsp. kosher salt and cook until browned. Add crushed tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes. 5. Coat a pizza stone or metal baking tray with 1 tbsp. canola oil. It is important to use a pizza stone or a metal baking tray and not a flimsy tin so that the bottom of the dough gets cooked thoroughly. 6. Roll the dough into a round shape but keep it thick. Pull up the sides to make a space to hold the beef. 7. Add the cooked beef into the center of the dough and cook uncovered for 25 minutes. 8. When the pizza is cooked, place the roasted peppers in the center of the pie and add the kalamata olives. Sprinkle with parsley and Maldon salt. Serve warm. DIRECTIONS: ADINA YAAKOV