Rosemary Press Recipes

Discover our collection of delicious, farm-fresh recipes

Focaccia Bread

Focaccia Bread

Serves 12
Dough Rise Time: 16 hrs, Cook Time: 53 mins

Ingredients

Biga:

  • 1/2 cup (125 g) warm water
  • 1 cup (125 g) bread flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

Focaccia:

  • All of the biga
  • 1 1/2 cups (350 g) warm water
  • 3/4 cup AHH Rosemary Press olive oil, divided, plus more for coating
  • 3 cups (375 g) bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 2 (6 inch) rosemary sprigs
  • 1 large head garlic
  • 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, divided

Instructions

  1. Make the biga: In a medium bowl combine the water, flour and yeast. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Then transfer it to the refrigerator overnight and up to 48 hours.
  2. The next day make the dough: Remove the biga from the refrigerator. It will look fully hydrated, expanded and should be a little bubbly.
  3. Into a large bowl add the water, all of the biga (235g), 3 tablespoons of olive oil and stir to combine. It’s ok if it doesn’t totally come together, you just want to break up the biga a bit.
  4. Add the flour, salt, and yeast and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is hydrated. You will have a sticky, bumpy, shaggy but homogeneous dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set it in a warm corner of your kitchen for 30 minutes.
  5. Fold the dough: Wet your hands to stretch and fold the dough. To do this, scoop your fingers down the sides of the bowl so they meet under the dough in the middle. Lift the dough up above the bowl. Put one end down in the bowl, then the other so they overlap a bit. Lift and fold the dough over itself 3 times. Coming from different edges of the dough each time. Cover with plastic wrap. Repeat this process every 30 minutes for the next 2 1/2 hours.
  6. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet: Place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of a baking sheet for thinner focaccia or a 9×13 cake pan for thicker focaccia. Generously coat the parchment paper with 1/3 cup olive oil. Place the dough on the baking sheet or pan, and turn it over gently to coat.
  7. Stretch and dimple the dough: Spread your fingers apart and bend them like you’re trying to mimic the talons of a bird. Using the tips of your fingers gently insert them into the dough in multiple places, creating dimples and stretching the dough gently toward the edges of the pan. You will do this 3 to 4 times over the next 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
  8. Pre-heat oven to 230°C (or 210°C fan-forced).
  9. Roast the garlic: While you rise and stretch the dough, roast the garlic. You will add the roasted garlic to the dough during the stretching process.
  10. Using a sharp knife, slice the top ¼ to ½-inch off the top of the garlic bulb exposing the individual cloves. Remove any loose papery skins. Place the garlic cut side up in the centre of a piece of foil large enough to envelope the bulb.
  11. Drizzle the garlic with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Make sure the whole bulb is coated in the oil. Fold the foil around the garlic. Place it in a small baking dish or ramekin and pop it in the oven for 25-30 minutes. When it’s ready the cloves will be soft, and creamy.
  12. Add garlic and rosemary to the dough: Remove the garlic from the oven, open the foil and let it cool until it’s easy to handle but still warm. Press on the uncut base of the bulb to squeeze the cloves out. Drop them onto the focaccia dough in different places.
  13. Strip the rosemary sprigs of their needles and sprinkle them across the dough. Press the garlic and rosemary into the dough when you dimple and stretch it.
  14. Add olive oil and dimple one more time: Before the final dimple, drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the bread and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of flaky sea salt. Dimple it again.
  15. When all is said and done the dough should be coated in oil, pretty close to the edges of the sheet pan, and have lots of bubbles and dimples.
  16. Bake the focaccia: Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. When it’s done it should be golden brown with darker brown bubbles. Remove from the oven.
  17. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with a ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt. Give it about 5 minutes to cool, then transfer it to a cutting board. It should be crisp on the outside, tender, slightly chewy and full of air pockets on the outside. Eat it as is or top it with my favorite, eggplant caponata.
Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables In Rosemary Press Olive Oil

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables In Rosemary Press Olive Oil

Serves 8
1 hour 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 small Aubergine/eggplant, sliced
  • 5 Tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 Courgettes/zucchini, sliced
  • chilli pepper
  • Sprigs Rosemary
  • Basil
  • AHH Rosemary Press Extra Virgin Olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  2. Place baby eggplant into a colander set over a large bowl. Sprinkle salt liberally over eggplant; let sit to drain for 30 minutes.
  3. Toss together tomatoes and zucchini in a second large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper.
  4. Rinse baby eggplant to remove salt and pat dry with paper towels; add to tomato mixture and stir. Add more olive oil as needed to ensure eggplant is coated. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet.
  5. Roast in the preheated oven until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
  6. Preserve in Oil: Sterilise a wide mouthed jar.
    Pack vegetables into the jar.
    Pour on the olive oil.
    Ensure all vegetables are covered in oil.
  7. Maturing the veggies: Allow this jar of Mediterranean veggies in oil to mature for 2 weeks before you use it. This will allow all those marvelous flavours to mix together perfectly.
Rosemary Roast Lamb

Rosemary Roast Lamb

Serves 8
5 hours

Ingredients

Potatoes:

  • 8 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into thick wedges
  • 2 onions, peeled and cut into thick wedges
  • 1 tbsp AHH Rosemary Press Extra Virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Lamb:

  • 2.5 kg bone-in leg of lamb (can be substituted with lamb shoulder)
  • 2 tbsp sea salt flakes, plus extra to season
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
  • 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) AHH Rosemary Press Extra Virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
  • Juice of 1 large lemon, plus extra lemon wedges to serve
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) white wine (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (350°F) (150°C/300°F fan-forced).
  2. Place the potatoes and onion in the base of a large baking dish or roasting pan. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
  3. Place the lamb directly on top of the potatoes and onion. Sprinkle it with sea salt flakes and black pepper, then add the garlic, rosemary, oregano and olive oil. Use your hands to massage the marinade all over the lamb. It’s okay if some of it drips over the sides and onto the potatoes.
  4. Pour the chicken stock, lemon juice and white wine (if using) into the dish around the lamb. Do not pour it directly on the lamb as it will wash the marinade off.
  5. Cover with a lid – or baking (parchment) paper followed by a double layer of foil – and roast for 4½ hours. After this time, check that the lamb can easily be pulled apart with two forks. Be careful removing it from the oven as lots of juices will have pooled in the base of the pan. If the lamb isn’t yet tender, cover and continue cooking in 30-minute intervals until fork-tender.
  6. To finish the lamb, turn the heat up to 240°C (475°F) (220°C/425°F fan-forced). Baste the lamb with the pan juices and return the lamb and potatoes to the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the lamb is golden brown. The juices in the base of the pan will keep the lamb moist. If you have found that most of the juices have been absorbed, add ½ cup (125 ml) of water.
  7. Rest the lamb for at least 10 minutes before serving, covered loosely with foil. Serve with the potatoes and pan juices.
  8. Hint: If you would like to brown the potatoes, remove the lamb from the baking dish, ladle out the juices (do not throw them away – use them to drizzle over the lamb or see the leftover instructions below) and set the lamb aside, partially covered with foil (the lamb will stay warm for up to an hour). Return the potatoes to the oven for an additional 20 minutes or until they are browned and caramelised to your liking.