Spring Greens Focaccia Recipe

Spring is springing, which means a fresh batch of seasonal produce to cook with. Green veggies are at their peak around this time of year, including wild garlic, nettle and asparagus, and these can be used in an array of dishes. Here foraging educator Lizzy Farmer shares her go-to spring greens focaccia recipe, which you can jazz up with whatever you can find. And if you’re keen to try your hand at some foraging, check out our handy guide here.

Recipe: Lizzy Farmer’s Spring Greens Focaccia

Ingredients:

• 500g bread flour
• 1 generous handful of wild greens (see notes below) 
• Olive oil
• Sea salt 
• 1 x 7g sachet/2 tsps instant yeast  
• 470g/2 cups tepid water 
• Oddments of cheese (optional) 

You will also need a medium sized oven proof dish. Ceramic, glass or tin all work well for this recipe.  

Spring greens

In April I am adding in wild greens like crazy to many meals and bakes. Try starting with easy to identify wild garlic, nettle tips or perhaps add in some bramble buds if you are confident in your identification. If you are particularly lucky and know of a hedgerow with hops shoots appearing, they lend themselves incredibly well to this focaccia. I also like to add a good handful of whatever cheese is in need of using up.

Method:

1. Roughly chop your wild greens up as you like, I tend to do mine quite chunky to add texture.  
2. Add these and the other ingredients (aside from the olive oil) to a mixing bowl and combine with a spatula. 
3. Then continue with the spatula for a few more minutes if you so wish, or let your hands take over and combine some more until you are happy that every last bit of dry flour is incorporated.  
4. Add a generous glug of olive oil to your medium sized baking dish and ensure it is well oiled including the sides.  
5. Press your dough into it, making sure it is spread out evenly and to all edges.  
6. Place on a shelf in the fridge covered with oiled cling film or a damp tea towel until the next day. I like to leave mine for a minimum of twelve hours, often prepping in the evening, but this will happily continue slowly rising for up to thirty-six hours or so. 
7. Remove from the fridge and it’s covering and prod it all over with a finger or two to create indentations. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of sea salt. Leave to rise on your kitchen side for around an hour, preheating the oven to 200c/400f a good ten mins before you intend to bake it. 
8. Cook on the middle shelf at this temperature for 15 minutes. Check it and adjust the temperature to a little lower if it is taking on a golden-brown hue for another five minutes. You may at this stage if liked, add a little glaze of pinecone, dandelion or regular honey. 
9. Check a knife or skewer comes out clean at its centre to ensure it is backed and remove it from the oven. 
10. Leave it to cool in the dish and don’t be tempted to try and prize it out prematurely! Upon cooling it will loosen easily with a silicone spatula, palette or butter knife. 

Find out more about Lizzy at tellusmater.co.uk