Recipe of the Month

Focaccia with Olives, Rosemary and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 310ml warm water • 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil • 450g plain flour • 2 teaspoons caster ugar • 2 teaspoons sea salt • 1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh finely chopped rosemary • 2 teaspoons or 7g of dried yeast • 10 sliced pitted kalamata olives • Sliced cherry tomatoes as desired

Method

Place water, yeast, sugar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a mixing bowl and set aside in a warm place for 5 mins until frothy. In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour and half the sea salt then add the yeast mixture and 1 teaspoon of the rosemary, stir thoroughly.

Beat with a dough hook of an electric mixer or with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms into a ball. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured breadboard and knead for 10 minutes adding only enough additional flour to keep it from sticking. Cover with a clean towel and rest the dough in a warm place for approximately 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Grease or spray baking sheet or pizza tray. with the remaining oil. Place the dough on the prepared pan/tray and pat it into your desired shape. Cover and let rise in warm place 20 minutes; preheat oven to 200 degrees during the last 10 minutes of rising time.

Make deep impressions in the dough at 1-inch intervals with a finger or handle of a wooden spoon. Lightly press the olives and tomatoes into the surface of the dough, drizzle the top with 1 tablespoon of oil and sprinkle the remaining rosemary evenly over it. (Optional: sprinkle top with a little coarse salt).

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown and the focaccia sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool slightly on a wire rack and serve.

Alresford Chamber of Commerce News

Alresford Chamber It is great to see so many more shops open in the high street and businesses generally returning to more normal working. Job vacancies are appearing in some areas of business. Alresford is buzzing again. Committee members have been attending meetings and input into the district local plan, to ensure that the business perspective is represented.

Two up and coming meetings: • Market Town partnership, following our request for a separate plan for market towns • Taylor Wimpey masterplan update for Sun Lane

Chamber Events

AGM - Virtual 5th June

Alresford Founders Day. We would like to initiate an initiative to hold events based on Alresford’s founder Bishop Godfrey de Lucy (c1200) starting this year, but with the view to make it an annual event. This was proposed by the Alresford Historical & Literary Society to be built upon to include all sections of the community over an extended period of time. Any groups with ideas or wishing to join us please do contact us.

Membership - Together we are stronger

Annual memberships are due for renewal. We have kept the reduced fee for this year to reflect the current situation and the difficult position a number of businesses are in.

Join the Chamber & take advantage of benefits for your business

• Grow your business by increasing your companies’ profile locally • Stay informed of what’s happening in the town, and have your say • A great way to ensure everyone knows who you are and what services you offer. • Get free affiliation membership to the Hampshire Chamber of

Commerce • Build your business connections and sales through a vibrant local business group.

Market Town Events

We will resume market town events once we are able to. These will be posted on the event boards in town and a full list on our events page (https://www.alresfordchamber.co.uk/alresford/ AlresfordEvents/)

Any businesses or individuals wishing to participate, sponsor or generally assist with any of our projects please do email us.

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