No-Knead Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Bread and Roasted Tomato Soup

Today’s blog post is a two-for-one special. A bread & soup pairing. And with the rainy days of April just around the corner this may be exactly what you will want to eat.    

I’ve made quite a few No-Knead breads that have turned out to be delicious. When you can take the guesswork and work out of how much to knead your dough it’s hard to end up with something inedible. For today’s version, I am sharing with you a No-Knead Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread (YUM!) and for something warm and tasty to dunk it into a Roasted Tomato Soup (Double YUM!).

I started by making the bread. First up I roasted a head of garlic in the oven. I trimmed about a 1/2-inch of the head off and removed some of the papery outer layers. I placed the garlic in an aluminum foil packet and drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt. I then sealed the aluminum foil and placed on a baking sheet and roasted it in the oven for about an hour. After letting it cool completely, I squeezed the cloves out and mashed them.

I then added the garlic with chopped rosemary into my dough. After letting the dough rest for about 12 hours – which is the key to No-Knead Bread – it was time to bake it. I ended up with a perfectly golden crust on the outside and soft bread on the inside.

While the bread cooled, I made the soup. I roasted the tomatoes in the oven along with garlic cloves. I opted to remove the seeds from the tomatoes prior to roasting this way I wouldn’t have to worry about straining the soup afterwards to remove them.

I added the tomatoes to the pot where I caramelized the onions along with basil and some vegetable broth and used an immersion blender to blend everything together. I immediately regretted not using my food processor instead. No matter how careful I was there was splatter!

But the mess was worth it. The soup was delicious, and it paired perfectly with the bread.

No-Knead Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

1 head of garlic, roasted & mashed

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 1/2 cups warm water, 95F-100F

Olive oil and additional salt to roast garlic

Directions:

To roast garlic: Preheat oven to 400 F. Trim the head of the garlic about 1/4 to 1/2 inch and remove the papery outer layers of the bulb. Place on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Seal the aluminum foil to create a packet and then place on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes – 1 hour. Let the garlic cool and then squeeze the cloves out of the bulb. Mash the cloves prior to adding to the dough.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, salt, yeast, garlic and rosemary. Add in the water and continue to stir together until the dough forms. It will be sticky. Shape the dough into a ball and then tightly cover the bowl with a piece (or two) of plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size and be covered with air bubbles.

Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450 F and turn your dough out onto a workspace lightly dusted with flour and with floured hands shape the dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper – large enough to fit inside of the Dutch oven – and then place in a bowl – one that won’t allow the dough to spread much – and cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting place your Dutch oven in the oven for the 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and place the dough along with the parchment paper inside and cover. Bake for 25-30 minutes and then remove the lid and bake for additional 10-15 minutes, until the bread is golden brown.

Remove the bread and parchment paper from the pot and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes prior to slicing.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes:

Make sure to check the highest temperature your parchment paper can safely be used in the oven.

If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use a heavy-duty pot instead.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Tomatoes:

3 lbs. plum tomatoes, sliced in half and seeds removed

8 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

For the Caramelized Onions:

2 yellows onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Remaining Ingredients:

1/4 cup basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups vegetable broth

Additional salt & pepper

Directions:

For the Roasted Tomatoes:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tomatoes & garlic cloves on the parchment paper cut side up, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

For the Caramelized Onions:

In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the onions. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  

To Make the Soup:

Transfer the tomatoes, onions and basil to the bowl of a food processor (or a large pot if using an immersion blender) and process until everything is smooth and combined.

Transfer the mixture to a large pot or use the same pot if blended with an immersion blender, add in the vegetable broth, oregano and salt & pepper to taste and simmer on medium low heat for 10 minutes to heat through.

Margherita Naan Bread Pizza

Naan bread pizza… One of the easiest ways to make homemade pizza. I usually top mine with mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions and black olives, but, after seeing this recipe on Instagram I knew I had to try it.

To start, I prepped the toppings…

Next, I assembled the naan bread with all of the toppings…

I then baked it in a preheated 350 F oven for 8 minutes, until the cheese melted and then switched the oven to the broil setting and broiled the pizza for about 2 minutes, until the cheese began to bubble.

After the letting the pizza rest for a few minutes I then sliced and enjoyed it! This is definitely a much easier way to make pizza. And trust me, I’ve tried quite a few different ways.

 

Margherita Naan Bread Pizza

Ingredients:

2 naan breads

olive oil

1 green onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 sliced fresh mozzarella (8oz.)

2 plum tomatoes, sliced

2 slices prosciutto, torn into pieces

6 basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

salt and ground pepper

*Recipe can easily be halved

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place the naan breads on the baking sheet and brush the top with olive oil.

Spread the green onion and garlic over the naan bread. Then top each one with 4 slices of the mozzarella cheese. Top with the tomato slices – season the tomato with salt and pepper. Top the tomato with the prosciutto, basil and parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for 8 -10 minutes, until the pizza is crispy and the cheese had begun to melt. Switch the oven to broil and broil the pizza for 2 – 3 minutes until the cheese has begun to bubble.

Recipe from Allrecipes

Pesto Chicken Packets

As I mentioned in a previous post I was rained-in last week and went on a bit of a cooking binge making a Chicken Corn Chowder, a Meyer Lemon Yogurt Cake and a Pesto Sauce; the latter of which I finally put to good use and made Pesto Chicken Packets – a recipe I came across in an issue of Rachael Ray Magazine a few years back. Let me take a few steps back though and go over how I made the Pesto Sauce.

To make the sauce I combined 3 cups of basil, 1/4 cup of pine nuts, a garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper in the bowl of a food processor.

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I pulsed the ingredients until they were combined.

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And then let the machine run while I drizzled 2/3 cup of olive oil into the mixture.

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After transferring the mixture to a bowl I stirred in a 1/4 cup of freshly grated of Parmesan cheese.

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Since I wasn’t using the Pesto Sauce immediately I stored it in an airtight container in my refrigerator. After being in the fridge for a few days I added a little more olive oil to the top of it to make sure it would stay fresh. And when I was ready to use it was perfect.

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On to the Pesto Chicken Packets…

Along with the chicken and pesto, I also needed zucchini, plum tomatoes and scallions for the recipe.

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I prepped the vegetables by slicing the zucchini, chopping the tomatoes and trimming the scallions.

Pesto 1

Then it was time to prep the chicken packets for the oven. I drizzled about a teaspoon of olive oil in the center of a 12-inch long sheet of aluminum foil and placed a thin-sliced chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper on top of it. I then spread about a tablespoon of the pesto over the chicken.

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Next it was time to cover the chicken with about a handful of the sliced zucchini and chopped tomatoes and a few of the scallions. Prior to closing the packets I also dolloped about two tablespoons of the pesto on top.

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I placed all of the packets on a baking sheet and baked them in a 355 F preheated oven for 40 minutes.

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And voila, they were perfectly cooked in that time. This is definitely a great recipe for chicken as the juices of the zucchini, tomatoes and of course the pesto produces a chicken breast that is perfectly juicy and flavorful. I served them with brown rice and no worries I did take the chicken along with all of its components out the aluminum packet prior to eating it. How else was I going to be able to mix all the wonderful juices in with my rice?

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Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

3 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, washed

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions:

1. Place the basil, pine nuts, basil, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.

2. While the machine is running drizzle the olive oil through the feed tube, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.

3. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese.

 

Pesto Chicken Packets

Ingredients:

Extra-Virgin olive oil, for drizzling

5 Thinly sliced skinless and boneless chicken breasts

Salt and Pepper

1 cup Pesto

2 zucchini, thinly sliced

4 plum tomatoes, chopped

10 scallions, trimmed

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 355 F. Cut five 12-inch long sheets of heavy-duty foil. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil in the center of each sheet.

2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 piece of chicken in the center of each sheet and spread 1 tablespoon pesto on top.

3. Mound a handful of the zucchini and tomatoes over each chicken breast along with two pieces of scallion. Dollop a few tablespoons pesto over each mound. Fold the foil over the chicken and vegetables; pinch the edges to seal.

4. Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.

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