FOCACCIA WITH CHILE AND COTIJA CHEESE

Posted in Breads, Pizzas & Small Dishes by

A while ago – June 2013, to be precise – I made a type of Italy-meets-Mexico-focaccia using a sauce with tomatillos. It turned out so tasty that I wanted to re-visit the same type of fusion cuisine again. It took me a while, but here is my second take on the subject.  I used my default recipe for the dough, topped with a mixture of olive oil, avocado oil, New Mexico chiles, and Cotija cheese. Some sun-dried tomatoes for a bit of concentrated sweetness, and voilà…

IMG_6521FOCACCIA WITH CHILE AND COTIJA CHEESE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 recipe of focaccia dough
Green New Mexico chiles, thinly sliced
Cotija cheese, crumbled (you can use feta, or even Mozzarella)
sun-dried tomatoes
olive oil
avocado oil
salt & pepper

Open the dough on a well-oiled baking dish, stretching with your hands, and making plenty of dimples all over its surface.

Add a good coating of olive and avocado oil, mixed about 50:50. Distribute the slices of chile, cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes all over the dough.  Season with salt and pepper.

Bake as directed in the original foccacia post.

Cut in slices and serve.

ENJOY!

I am not offering a printable version, since the main recipe for the dough is from a previous post. The toppings don’t really need any type of precise measurement, so add as much or as little of each component you feel like. Black olives could be wonderful too, by the way…

prebaked
For the chiles, I used the brand featured in this post, a gift from our friends V & K. They have amazing flavor, and of course go very well with Cotija cheese, one of those matches made in heaven.  Like V & K.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

The focaccia squares freeze well, I like to wrap 3 to 4 squares in small packages and enjoy them for weeks. Simply remove from the freezer 30 minutes before your meal, and heat them in a low oven until warm and fragrant.

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting event…

ONE YEAR AGO: Crispy Chickpea and Caper Spaghetti 

TWO YEARS AGO: Leaving on a jet plane

THREE YEARS AGO: Crispy Herb-Crusted Halibut

FOUR YEARS AGO: Almond Butter Cake

FIVE YEARS AGO: Bonjour!

21 thoughts on “FOCACCIA WITH CHILE AND COTIJA CHEESE”

  2. I love this and I love the idea of freezing them even better. I always worry when I contemplate a recipe that means we’ll be eating nothing but that for a week. 🙂

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  3. OMG Sally that focaccia looks perfect with the right amount of heat and cheese yumminess. My niece loves focaccia I guess I’ll have to bake this for her (minus the chile as she’s not (yet) fond of spicy food!)

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    • These chiles are not too hot, maybe your niece would not mind, but take a look at my other focaccias in the blog, I think the one with tomatillos would go very well with your niece and it was superb!

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    • you would be totally welcome! By the way, I got the Cooking Light new issue and was very impressed. I want to cook almost EVERY recipe in the magazine, except maybe one or two of the desserts. I might have to race you to blog on stuff from it, because I have the feeling you will go at it like a pro! 😉

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  12. Pingback: Focaccia Pugliese - IT'S JUST ITALY

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