Make an edible flower focaccia with black olives, sage, calendula and anchusa.
This hot Mediterranean weather we’re enjoying at the moment is perfect for a floral focaccia with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a cheeky glass of wine. This is my favourite recipe, which I garnished with flowers from my Greens of Devon boxes.
Ingredients
1 tsp yeast
300g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
200ml water
100g pitted black olives, sliced
20 fresh sage leaves
2 calendula flowers
1 tbsp olive oil
A handful of blue flowers, such as anchusa, cornflower or borage, to garnish
Directions
1. Put all the ingredients in the list up to the water into your bread machine, and add half the sage leaves and the petals from one calendula flower and mix as per your machine’s instructions. I use the pizza dough option on mine, which only takes 45 minutes. If you are less lazy than me, follow this guide to making your own focaccia dough.
2. On a floured surface, gently pat the dough out to a flattish shape, and sprinkle in the olives, keeping back four of them for the topping. Knead gently and then shape into a loaf tin. Sprinkle over the remaining olives and sage leaves and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Cover with a slightly damp tea towel and leave for 30 minutes in a warm place to prove.
3. Bake at gas mark 5/190 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you hit it.
4. Sprinkle over the rest of the calendula petals and the blue flowers. Serve up, feeling proud.
