I hope everyone had a great Easter.
Sorry for the lack of posts but my computer died recently and whilst it's being repaired, I have been using a friend's borrowed laptop. It doesn't always want to work with Wordpress but I'm making sure it does today.
I want to continue where I left off recently and that means more heirloom tomatoes!
Pin itThe dish I want to highlight today is soooo goood! I've made it three times in the last few weeks and it has never survived beyond a few hours.
"Ladenia" (pronounced la-the-nia) is best described as Greece's answer to pizza. I hope that doesn't offend anyone (and I'm sure I'll be emailed about it) but it's basically a pizza/foccacia dough made with Greek extra virgin olive oil and topped with tomatoes, sliced onions and Greek oregano.
Ladenia is a specialty which hails from the island of Kimolos. I
t was first brought to my attention on Peter's blog a few years ago who in turn had adapted it form Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. (I miss you Laurie!)
With my haul of heirloom tomatoes, I knew I had to make this dish.
The ladenia dough has olive oil in it, making it much easier to handle, in my opinion. It rises perfectly and has a soft, almost fluffy texture. Add some Greek oregano (go and seek it out I say....it's the best!) and you have an equation that equals delicious.
The aroma alone whilst it's cooking, will drive you to insanity!
Pin it(Adapted from Laurie’s recipe here and Peter’s recipe here)
- For the dough:
- 1 cup of warm water
- 1 sachet of dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 3-3 1/4 cups of plain flour
- For the topping:
- 2-2 1/4 cups of sliced/diced heirloom tomatoes
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- A good “handful” of dried Greek oregano
- To make the dough, combine the water and yeast-cover and allow it to activate-about 10 mins.
- Add the olive oil, salt and stir to combine.
- Begin by adding 2 cups of flour and mixing thoroughly and then slowly adding the last cup until you have an elastic, pliable dough. If you find it is still too sticky try adding a few tbsps of olive oil.
- Knead the dough for about 5-6 mins applying lot of elbow grease.
- Lay the dough on your pre-oiled baking dish and proceed to stretch it out ensuring it reaches the edges of your baking dish.
- Cover the dough in cling wrap and with a kitchen towel and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 45 mins-1 hour.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, combine your heirloom tomatoes, onions, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and spread this mix evenly over the dough.
- Top with generous amounts of Greek oregano and bake in pre heated 200 deg C oven for about 40-50 mins.
- Cut up into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.
Pin it