....Things to Eat With Everyday Focaccia

Kyle's (very excellent) smoked trout spread, my recipe for hummus and other delicious things I ate this week

This summer my family has survived on a lot of “focaccia plus” meals. Focaccia plus salad, focaccia plus cheese, focaccia plus dip, focaccia plus focaccia…you get the point. It has thus far been largely a season of chasing my tail, with some redeeming moments in the kitchen.

I finally made smoked trout spread, based on my good friend Kyle Suczynski’s recipe that she used to make at Astro and then later that we made at Ochre from local trout we smoked in-house. I simplified the recipe, using store bought smoked trout, and it was everything I wanted it to be! I love to just eat this with a little shaved red onion and lettuce or cucumber on some good bread, but I also used the spread to make a toasted sandwich inspired by the whitefish sandwich at the beloved, and now closed, Roses in Detroit. In this, I paired the trout spread with sharp cheddar and toasted it in a cast iron skillet on buttered bread, so good!

Last night I roasted a chicken, salted well all over and simply stuffed with a few thyme and rosemary branches in the cavity and under the skin on top of the breast. I roasted it in a hot oven at 425F, breast side down for 20 minutes then turned the temp down to 375 and cooked it for another 40 minutes, turning it breast side up 20 minutes before it was done to color the skin and then giving it a final few minutes blast with the grill (broiler) to crisp everything up before removing from the oven and allowing to rest until we were ready to eat.

We ate the chicken with a salad of shaved zucchini, fresh figs and feta dressed with lemon and olive oil, a bowl of beets that were boiled, tossed in a splash of sherry vinegar a dollop of sour cream and snipped chives, the first tomato from our garden with some torn basil, salt and olive oil, and a plate of focaccia.

Today for lunch I tore up the left-over chicken, made a sauce with sour cream, a little yellow mustard, a little finely chopped red onion and chopped Tarragon and basil (salt and pepper of course), a salad that was just shaved Napa (Wombok) cabbage dressed with a little lemon juice, salt and olive oil, sliced salted cucumber and the remaining beets in sour cream. We made our own sandwiches at the table, and it felt very grand for how little effort was put in.

Last week I made focaccia sandwiches of thinly sliced and grilled zucchini, fresh mozzarella, salami that was cured with paprika, a drizzle of honey, dried chili and a fresh fresh oregano leaves. I also made a vegetarian version without the salami, adding a few slices of grilled fennel instead. Both versions were delicious.

I have included my recipe for hummus here, which I made for over 10 years at our businesses. I love hummus on a focaccia sandwich with roasted vegetables, a little tangy dressed salad and either some toasted nuts or creamy feta.