Olive Focaccia Sandwich with Crispy Eggplant Chips & Roasted Capsicum Dip

Directions

Olive & Rosemary Focaccia

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the lukewarm water, yeast and honey with a whisk and leave to sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast has foamed. This will indicate that your yeast is active. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt and whisk together. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and bring the dough together with your hands or a spatula until a shaggy and sticky dough forms.

3. Coat a large mixing bowl with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Coat the dough in the olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the fridge. Leave the dough to rise for a minimum of 6 hours but ideally for 24 hours. The dough will double in size and look bubbly. 

4. Take the dough out of the fridge and fold it over itself in quarters. Gather up each edge of the dough with your hands and fold it over itself while turning the bowl. The dough will deflate while you shape it into a neat ball. 

5. Coat a deep rectangular baking dish (I use a pan that is 34cm x 23cm x 5cm) with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and transfer the dough ball to the baking dish. Using your fingers, stretch the dough out slightly into a rough rectangular shape. There is no need to stretch the dough out to the edges of the pan as the dough will rise and spread. Cover the pan with a tea towel and leave the dough to rise in a warm area of your house for 3 - 4 hours. If your dough is uncovered there is risk of too much air getting into the dough and creating a dry and crusty layer on top.

6. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Once the dough has risen, use your fingers to indent or dimple the dough. Scatter the garlic confit cloves and rosemary over the dough. Drizzle the dough with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. This will help the crust of the dough get golden and crispy when baking. Finish off with a sprinkling of flakey sea salt. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until the dough has developed a golden crust on top. 

7. Let the bread slightly cool before removing it from the baking tray. Place onto a wire rack. 

Crispy Eggplant Chips

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. 

2. Heavily salt the eggplant slices, place them into a colander and leave to sit for 30 minutes. The salt will remove the excess liquid from the eggplants. Give them a squeeze to remove any remaining liquid. 

3. Place the eggplant onto trays that are lined with paper towels or tea towels and dry them as much as possible. The more liquid that is removed, the crispier your eggplants will be. 

4. Into a shallow bowl, add the olive oil. Dip the eggplant into the olive oil, applying some pressure with your fingers. Flip the eggplant over and repeat. Continue this step until all of the eggplant has been coated with the olive oil. 

5. Place the eggplant onto a pre-lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes each side or until they are golden and crispy. Each slice of eggplant will cook at their own speed so be sure to keep an eye on them and flip or remove some slices over earlier than others if they are getting to brown. Leave to cool on a baking rack. 

Roasted Capsicum dip

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius. 

2. Place the whole capsicums onto a baking tray and bake for 1 hour, flipping the capsicums over once or twice. They will begin to charr and blacken on their skin. 

3. Place the capsicums into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Leave to sit for 1 hour to allow the capsicums to steam and slightly cool. Remove the capsicums from the bowl. Peel off their skin and remove the seeds. 

4. Into a food processor, place the capsicums, feta, olive oil, salt and pepper and juice from half a lemon. Blend until a smooth consistency forms. 

Garlic Confit

1. Preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius. 

2. Peel the garlic by breaking the cloves away and placing them into a heatproof bowl. Submerge in boiling hot water for 5 minutes and drain. The skin will become loose and easy to peel away. 

3. Place the garlic cloves and thyme into an ovenproof dish and fully submerge in olive oil. It's important the garlic is fully submerged in the olive oil so it does not burn. Bake for 2 hours or until the garlic has browned in colour. 

4. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container or jar for up to several weeks in the fridge.

Sandwich

1. Cut your focaccia into thirds lengthways. Slice 1 piece of the focaccia in half.

2. Assemble your sandwich by beginning with a layer of the garlic confit, followed by the red capscium dip, burrata, rocket and slices of the crispy eggplant. Top with the other half of the focaccia and cut in half.