Veggie Pizza

I was craving pizza so I decided that would be dinner for tonight. At 3:00 this afternoon, I started by making the pizza dough. While the dough was rising, I turned my attention to the pizza sauce by pureeing a can of Italian style tomatoes and warming it in a sauce pan with a little tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and just a pinch of sugar. I simmered the sauce for about 10 minutes to thicken it a little and then set it aside to cool. I moved on to the veggies; I sliced some red onions, half of a red and green pepper and some mushrooms and sauteed them all briefly.

I also made a quick side salad by cutting up a couple of Roma tomatoes into chunks and adding a chopped up avocado. The simple salad got a dressing of a lemon juice, olive oil, honey and seasonings. A very nice little side dish.


The pizza dough had risen to its double level and so it was time to deflate it and shape it. I brushed the edges with olive oil, spread some of the sauce on the crust, added my sauteed veggies and shredded cheeses (I used a combination of mozzarella and cheddar since that is what I had on hand). I added a sprinkling of fresh parsley and popped it on my pizza stone for about 10 minutes. Once it came out of the oven, I sprinkled it with some fresh basil.

Yum!





Pizza Crust
Makes 2 medium crusts or 4 calzones

1/2 cup warm water, about 110 degrees
2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and allow it to dissolve and swell (about 5 minutes). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough in a smooth, round ball. (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and frees at this point.) Cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes. If you don't have a pizza stone, turn a baking sheet upside down and use it instead. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal (I used a piece of parchment paper which went directly on the pizza stone). Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

You can make dough ahead of time and keep a stash in the freezer. To do this, mix up the dough as usual and let it rise as normal. After dividing the dough into two equal portions, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and store inside a freezer-safe bag, and transfer to the freezer immediately. The double layer is important here. Even after the dough is moved to the freezer, it will continue to rise a bit before the rise is completely suspended. It always pops through the plastic wrap so the extra layer of protection is needed to prevent exposure.

Freeze the dough until it is ready to be used. The day you plan to use the dough, transfer it to the refrigerator in the morning to thaw in time for dinner that evening. (If using the dough for lunch, transfer to the refrigerator the night before.) The dough that has been frozen tastes every bit as good as fresh so it is incredibly convenient to have available for a quick, throw-together meal.

If you are planning on using the dough the very next day, the refrigerator is not cold enough to stop the rise quickly and the result is an over-risen, crazy puffy monster dough. Use the freezer initially to completely stop the rise, and then transfer the dough to the refrigerator until it is ready to be used.

Before making the pizza, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes to take off the chill. Preheat the oven and the pizza stone at 500 degrees for 30 minutes.

Adapted from Annie's Eats

My rating:

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

Sometimes a pizza sounds perfect. I usually plan something more than a pizza for dinner, but this one has had me curious for a while. I had a pizza dough stashed in my freezer from the last time I made pizza, so I let it thaw in the refrigerator all day. I then brought it out to room temperature for 30 minutes while I was preheating my pizza stone in a very hot oven. I rolled out the dough and brushed it with olive oil to start with and then spread it with a layer of sliced mozzarella cheese. The asparagus spears were shaved using a vegetable peeler to shave the spears into ribbons. The shaved asparagus was piled on the crust and finally some Boursin garlic herb cheese was crumbled over the top. After 12 minutes in a hot oven on a hot pizza stone, this is what I got.



Shaved Asparagus Pizza
Adapted from Annie's Eats

Pizza Dough
cornmeal
olive oil
8 oz. asparagus spears
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
3 oz. spreadable garlic herb cheese, such as Boursin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Dust a piece of parchment paper with cornmeal and roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil.

Cut the tough woody stems off the ends of the asparagus spears. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the spears into ribbons. You likely will not need all of the asparagus, but use more ribbons that you think you need because it will cook down in the oven.

Place the sliced mozzarella over the pizza dough in an even layer. Pile the asparagus shavings over the top of the mozzarella. Dot the surface of the pizza with the garlic herb cheese. Season with kosher salt and pepper.

Transfer the pizza with the parchment paper to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Our rating:
+

Swiss Chard au Gratin

I decided to try this Swiss chard recipe since chard has been a staple in my CSA basket the past few times. This recipe cooks a lot of chard in boiling salted water before being rinsed, drained and thoroughly dried in a clean kitchen towel to remove all the water. Once the chard was cooled, half of it went in a casserole, topped with a roasted garlic bechamel sauce, sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and layers were repeated. The entire casserole was popped in a hot oven about 20 minutes until the top was just golden.

The chard was served over a toasted length of a baguette to make a Swiss Chard au Gratin French Bread Pizza. This dish was very creamy and cheesy and was a very unusual topping for a French bread pizza.



Swiss Chard au Gratin French Bread Pizza
Adapted from a Rachel Ray recipe

Kosher salt
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds Swiss chard or rainbow chard (3 or 4 large bunches)
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Nutmeg
Roasted Garlic Paste (recipe follows)
2 cups shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
One 24-inch French Bread

Roasted Garlic Paste:
2 heads garlic, tops trimmed off to expose all of the cloves
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoons honey
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the Roasted Garlic Paste:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Arrange the garlic on a piece of foil and drizzle with the tablespoon of olive oil. Wrap up the garlic in the foil to make a tightly sealed pouch. Roast until very tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic from the skins into a food processor. Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the honey and season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a small container. (Alternatively, you can mash the garlic paste with a fork instead of using a food processor.)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove them stems from the chard but keep the leaves whole. Add the chard to the boiling water (the pot will be packed at first) and cook for 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cool water. Drain again, then wrap the chard in a kitchen towel and squeeze to remove the excess water. Chop the chard.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Stir in half of the Roasted Garlic Paste.

Spread half the chard in the bottom of a medium casserole dish. Top with half the garlic sauce and half the cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with the cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove the casserole from the oven and turn on the broiler.

Halve the bread lengthwise, then cut in half crosswise to make four 12-inch-long pieces. Broil the bread, cut-side up, until charred, about 1 minute. Slather with the remaining Roasted Garlic Paste and top each piece with one-quarter of the chard au gratin. Serve immediately.

Serves 4


Our rating: