Grilled Focaccia with Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
Makes 8 appetizer servings or 4 main-course servings
Focaccia is almost the same thing as pizza, but it's
usually baked with just a sprinkle of herbs and served as a bread. It's
fun to grill the rounds of dough, which gives them tasty brown grill marks.
You can cut the salad-topped focaccia into wedges and serve it as an appetizer,
or place them on a plate and serve one focaccia per person as a main course.
Tomato and Mozzarella Salad:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed through a press
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 ounces mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/3 cup pitted and chopped brine-cured black olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 pounds frozen pizza or bread dough, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1. To make the salad, whisk together the vinegar, garlic,
salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk in the oil. Add the tomatoes,
mozzarella, olives, and basil and mix. Cover and let stand at room temperature
until ready to serve, up to 2 hours. Do not refrigerate.
2. To make the focaccia, build a charcoal fire in an
outdoor grill and let burn down until medium-hot. You should be able to
hold your hand just above grate level for 3 seconds. In a gas grill, preheat
on High, then reduce the heat to Medium.
3. Cut the dough into four pieces, form into balls, and
cover loosely with plastic wrap. On a lightly floured work surface, keeping
the remaining balls covered, roll out one piece of dough into an 8-inch
round. (If the dough is stubborn, pick up the round and pull and stretch
it into shape.) Place on a lightly oiled piece of wax paper, brush the
top with oil, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Repeat with the other
balls of dough.
4. Lightly oil the cooking grate. Flip the dough rounds
onto the grill, discarding the wax paper. Cover and grill until the undersides
are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Brush with oil, flip, and continue
grilling until the other sides are browned and the dough is cooked through,
3 to 4 minutes more.
5. To serve, cut the focaccias into quarters and place
on a serving platter. Top each wedge with a large spoonful of salad. Serve
immediately.
Summer Vegetable Salsa
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
This multicolored salsa is not only a tortilla chip's
best friend, but it is also great alongside just about any simply grilled
fish, poultry, or meat you care to serve it with.
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
8 ounces plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup cooked corn kernels, preferably from grilled corn
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 jalape±o pepper, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, crushed through a press
1. In a colander set over a bowl, toss the zucchini with
1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand until the zucchini gives off its juices,
about 30 minutes. Rinse well under cold water. A handful at a time, squeeze
the excess liquid out of the zucchini and place the zucchini in a medium
bowl.
2. Add the tomatoes, corn, lime juice, onion, jalape±o,
and garlic. Toss and add salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate to blend
the flavors, at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.
Mesquite Salmon Steaks with Summer Vegetable Salsa
Makes 4 servings
Smoked with mesquite, seasoned with chili powder, and
served with salsa, these steaks have a Tex-Mex kick. Because the salmon
won't be smoked for long, be sure the mesquite builds up a good head of
smoke before placing the fish on the grill so it can start smoking from
the get-go.
Four 7-ounce salmon steaks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mesquite wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained
Summer Vegetable Salsa (see above)
1. Build a charcoal fire in an outdoor grill and let
burn until the coals are covered with white ash. Sprinkle the drained
chips over the coals. In a gas grill, preheat on High. Place the drained
chips in the metal smoke box. Or, wrap the drained chips in aluminum foil,
pierce a few holes in the foil, and place on the heat source. Cover and
let the chips smolder until a good stream of smoke can be seen coming
from the lid.
2. Lightly oil the cooking grate. Brush the salmon on
both sides with the oil. Season with the chili powder and salt. Place
the salmon on the grill and cover. Grill, without turning, until the salmon
flakes with a fork, about 7 minutes. Serve immediately, garnishing each
serving with a spoonful of salsa.
Tuscan T-Bone Steaks
Makes 4 servings
In Tuscany, a massive T-bone steak is grilled over oak
wood and served with nothing but a drizzle of the best olive oil with
salt and pepper. We can make do here with our own beef, which is pretty
darned good, too, cut to manageable proportions. An oak wood fire takes
too long to burn down, so sprinkle your hardwood charcoal or briquette
coals with soaked and drained oak chips to give your T-bone authentic
Florentine flavor.
Four 1 1/4-pound T-bone steaks, cut about 1 inch thick
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for serving
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges
1. Brush both sides of each steak with the olive oil.
Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, build a charcoal fire in an outdoor grill
and let burn until covered with white ash. The coals should be very hot--you
should be able to hold your hand at grate level for only 1 to 2 seconds.
In a gas grill, preheat on High.
3. Just before grilling, season the steaks with the salt
and pepper. Lightly oil the cooking grate. Place the steaks on the grill
and cover. Cook, turning once, until the steaks are well-browned on the
exterior and rare within, 6 to 8 minutes. (Tuscans prefer very rare steak,
but cook it to your taste.) If you like your steak more well done, move
it to the cooler, outer perimeter of the charcoal, not directly over the
coals. Turning the steaks once again, continue grilling, covered, for
about 3 more minutes for medium-done steaks, and 5 more minutes for well-done.
In a gas grill, reduce the heat to medium, and continue grilling for approximately
the same time as for charcoal. Serve immediately, with the lemon wedges
and a cruet of olive oil for seasoning at the table.
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