Onion-Pepper Focaccia with a Hearty Minestrone soup

I had something on my meal plan tonight but I wasn’t in the mood to make it. What I really wanted to bring to my table was an Italian meal that my family loved. Since I had everything that I needed to make, I decided to go ahead with a hearty warm Minestrone soup with Onion-Pepper focaccia bread. Life’s boring if you never go off the plan, that’s for sure.

Anyway, I chose from various internet recipes for the soup with the availability of ingredients on hand and just messed it with it fair amount to make it Aromatic Happy home. So I decided to make use of chickpea in lieu of cannellini beans and macaroni pasta coz that’s for sure easily available in a toddler’s home. Otherwise, I mostly just modified things to be a little simpler and work with what I have (plain water instead of vegetable broth)! The result was a thick hearty, perfectly delicious soup for a cold fall night.

Meanwhile, for the bread, we really enjoy focaccia bread at Sweet tomatoes. Both my sons are big time bread lovers. Ever since I found the recipe from http://cookclickndevour.com/herbs-and-onion-focaccia, I wanted to try it out. I thought the best way to pair it was with a warm soup. So here it is, I just modified it to add peppers. And, omg, you guys! It’s SO good. My kids went nuts for it, and they jokingly tried to steal pieces from each other.

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

Olive oil	1Tbsp
Chopped Onion	½ Cup
Peeled diced carrots	½  Cup
Diced Roma tomatoes	2 Cups
Fined chopped French beans	½ Cup
Canned Chick peas	1 Cup
Finely chopped spinach	1 Cup
Finely chopped fresh basil	1 tsp
Dried Italian Seasoning	1 tsp
Garlic powder	1 tsp
Uncooked Elbow macaroni	¼  Cup
Freshly coarse ground black pepper	1 tsp
Water	2 cups
Parmesan cheese	For topping

Method:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until just lightly browned.

Add water, carrots, French beans, chickpea, basil, dried Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, tomatoes and garlic powder.

Bring to boil and reduce the heat, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add macaroni cover and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Adjust spices to suit your taste. Serve hot with some parmesan cheese.

Onion-Pepper Focaccia

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour	1 ½ Cups
Rapid rise yeast	1tsp
Salt	¾ tsp
Warm water	To knead
Sugar	2 tsp
Thinly sliced Onion	½ Cup
Thinly sliced bell pepper	½ Cup
Dried Italian seasoning	1 tsp
Olive oil	3 tbsp

Method:

Proof the yeast by combining it with 1/4th cup warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve.

Let stand for 3 minutes until foam appears. Take all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.

Add olive oil and mix well.

 Add the yeast mixture and mix well. Now slowly knead the dough and add more water if needed. Form the dough into round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so that it doesn’t dry out.

Cover with a plastic wrap in a warm place until it doubles in size, for about 1 ½ hours.

Once the dough is doubled, turn it on the counter.

Roll and stretch the dough into a rectangular/square shape about ½-inch thickness. Lay the flattened dough into a baking sheet and cover with a plastic wrap.

 Let it rest for 1 more hour for second rising. After an hour, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips. Brush the surface with more olive oil and spread sliced onions, bell pepper and salt and sprinkle the Italian seasoning as needed.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges turn golden. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, slice, and serve warm.

Tips:

·         If you have half of the baked loaf leftover, you can refrigerate or freeze it. First, wrap it tightly in a plastic wrap, then in a foil. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and in the freezer for a month.

·         Day old bread can be toasted and used as croutons.