Foccacia later

“If you must bake in a tent, bake in a tent – but, please, don’t bake in a tent!”

Only the other week I had picked up a great recipe for making one´s own foccacia from my cookbook of the year last year, Moorish by Ben Tish. Focaccia is a flavoursome and easy-to-make Italian flat bread baked in a sheet pan. It’s made with a yeast dough that rises twice: once before it is shaped and then again after it is shaped (so be  sure to allow plenty of time). To give the bread its signature dimpled appearance, little indentations are formed all over the dough, which hold tiny pools of olive oil that soak into the bread as it bakes. To give the foccacia a more mediterranean feel I added rosemary, thyme and dried basil to the dough mix.

"Provençal" Tuna Melt 

Purists may cringe at the use of "Provençal" and "Melt" in the same phrase, but if the shoe, so to speak, fits the foot. . .
  This isn't your standard greasy diner, school lunch version of a tuna melt. Packed with lots of flavour, this makes for an excellent and healthy lunch or supper.
Group together some typically Provençal  flavours, tuna, green olives, anchovies, tomatoes, red onion and fresh basil, put them between your foccacia, and add some soft, melt-y cheese. Stand on a soapbox and proclaim the glories of tinned tuna packed in olive oil.
This classic foccacia is topped with coarse salt and fresh rosemary, parsley, red onion and tomato, but other toppings can be added? The choice is yours.

400g (14oz can tuna, drained

125g ball of mozarella

1 red onion sliced

2 tomatoes sliced

16 anchovies

handful of green olives, pitted

1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

large bunch of fresh basil leaves

4 slices good bread; I used my own Focaccia
In a small food processor combine the cherry tomatoes,4 of the anchovies,2 garlic cloves, a tablespoon of water and a very generous handful of basil leaves.Add the olive oil and blitz until you have a chunky spreadable mix.
Put the tuna and onion in a bowl . Slice the flat bread in half  horizontally. Spread the pesto  mixture over the leaves followed by a layer of sliced tomatoes.Top with the rest of the anchovies and a scattering of green olives, finish with the tuna and cover with the mozzarella generously over the top.Stick under the grill until gooey and melty. Put the top back on the flat bread.Sit back and think of La France.