Recipe: Focaccia with Eggplant, Tomatoes and Anchovies (using frozen bread dough)

ROB'S FOCACCIA WITH EGGPLANT,
TOMATOES AND ANCHOVIES

"My friend Rob gave me this recipe. He says: "One of the tricks of good pizza has to do with the thing you cook it in or on. I have a round glazed terracotta dish which I bought in Italy which, I'd say, is about 12-inches in diameter. It has an edge of about 1-inch. So what I am going to tell you would be in relation to that dish or an equivalent thing, like a baking stone. You could also do it on a heavy duty cooking sheet, adjusting temps." - George McTyre

1 loaf good quality frozen bread dough, defrosted
1 average-sized eggplant
5 or 6 Roma tomatoes
Leaf basil (as much as you wish)
Anchovies (optional if you don't like them)
Olive oil
Grated Parmesan/Romano cheese (or mozzarella)

Let the bread dough rise in a heavy-weight bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Overnight to be ready for dinner on the following day.

TO PREPARE THE PIZZA:
Peel eggplant and slice in about 1/4-slices to make circles. Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at eggplant at 350 degrees F, turning till browned and slightly soft.

Peel tomatoes by dipping in boiling water to separate skins. Cut into small thin rounds and drain. Remove the seeds.

Spray or grease the pizza pan and take the risen dough (it should be very well risen by this time) and spread it into a circle of about 12-inches. You will find that it will "try" to recede. Let it "rest" for 5 minutes or so and proceed until it pretty much keeps its spherical shape.

Bake the dough in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about 10 minutes. It should rise but not have browned.

Remove from oven and arrange baked eggplant slices over it, then arrange tomato slices over eggplant, sprinkle on chopped anchovies, if desired, and as much fresh basil (leaves whole) as you wish. Sprinkle with olive oil to make sure that the dough is slightly covered (not too much) and sprinkle on grated parmesan (or mozzarella).

Bake for about 20 minutes, raising the heat for the last 10 minutes to 450 degrees F or so. Keep an eye on it. It should be nicely browned and bubbly. The type of cooking utensil will determine times.

Makes 1 (12-inch) foccacia
Source: George McTyre, 1990's