pizza

summer fresh tomato sauce

10/09/2018 By bridget

My requirements for the perfect tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes were very specific – the same issues that everyone has with removing enough liquid from the tomatoes without cooking away all the fresh flavor that makes them so special, plus one more – I did not want to peel the tomatoes. I hate peeling tomatoes. I hate using a vegetable peeler to peel them, and I hate cutting an X into the bottom of each one, then boiling them, then dipping them in cold water, and then pulling the peels off. I cooked sixteen pounds of tomatoes into this batch of sauce, which was well over fifty tomatoes. I do not want to individually peel fifty tomatoes.

This recipe satisfies all of those requirements, with an added bonus – you don’t even have to core the tomatoes. The tomatoes, very roughly chopped, are cooked down slightly to soften them, then pressed through a food mill – the mill strains out the seeds, cores, and peels. For a batch this large, it’s still a somewhat tedious process, but nothing compared to the prospect of coring and peeling each tomato individually.

From there, the fresh tomato puree is divided into three portions – one portion is simmered on the stovetop with aromatics until it reaches a sauce consistency. Another is kept fresh, with no cooking at all. If just these two portions were combined, the resulting sauce would be too liquidy, so the final portion is transferred to a baking pan and roasted until it’s thick and slightly caramelized.

These three mixtures each have something different to offer to the final sauce, and the combination of them makes a sauce with the best that tomatoes have to offer in any form – the bright summeriness of uncooked tomatoes, the deep savoriness of roasted tomatoes. It’s thick enough for anything you’d normally use tomato sauce for – meatballs and spaghetti like we did here, pizza, lasagna. All that, and the only real work you have to do is quarter the tomatoes and push them through a food mill. This has become my summer staple, with extra in the freezer to hoard as long as I can stand.

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Summer Fresh Tomato Sauce (slightly adapted from Serious Eats)

The original recipe starts with 25 pounds of tomatoes. The largest batch I’ve made was 16 pounds, but I’ve also made much smaller batches with just a handful of tomatoes. I’ve based my recipe on ten pounds because it’s a nice round number.

While the recipe recommends any variety of tomato, I’d be hesitant to use all cherry tomatoes, which could make the sauce too sweet. Also, wetter variety of tomatoes will take longer to reduce to a sauce or paste consistency.

If you’re scaling this recipe up or down, put about 40% of the puree in the oven, leave 10% uncooked, and cook the remaining 50% on the stove.

Makes about 1 quart of sauce, although it will depend on the type(s) of tomatoes used

10 pounds tomatoes, any variety, quartered, or halved if small
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh basil
1 small tomato plant cutting with about 5 leaves attached (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large (7- or 8-quart) stockpot over medium heat, cook the tomatoes, covered, until they begin to soften and release their liquid. (You may need to do this in multiple batches, depending on the size of your largest pot and the size of the batch you’re making.) Transfer the tomatoes to a food mill on the finest setting set over a large bowl and press the tomatoes through. Discard the skins and seeds that accumulate in the food mill.

2. Spray two 9-by-13-inch (or similarly sized) baking pans with cooking spray (or grease lightly with olive oil). Pour 3½ cups of tomato puree into each of the pans. Transfer the pans to the oven and roast, stirring occasionally, until the puree has reduced to a paste and leaves a clean trail when a spatula is dragged through it, 2 to 4 hours.

3. Pour another 1½ cups of tomato puree into a small container. Set aside.

4. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the onion and a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the remaining tomato puree and cook, stirring very occasionally, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 1 to 2 hours. Remove from the heat, add the basil and tomato leaves (if using) and set aside for about 5 minutes. Remove the basil and tomato leaves and discard them.

5. Combine the three mixtures, and add salt to taste. Serve, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze.

Filed Under: favorites, freezer friendly, gluten free, good as leftovers, healthy, pasta, pizza, summer, vegetables, vegetarian

lahmahjoon (armenian lamb pizza)

03/31/2016 By bridget

Pizza was the first thing I cooked after having the baby. I’d prepped the dough, made the sauce, shredded the cheese, and sliced the pepperoni before going to the hospital, but even so, three days after giving birth, putting it all together and sliding it into the oven was about all I could handle. I was grateful that my mom and mother-in-law cooked the rest of the meals that first week.

It’s over a month later, and now I’m actually able to make a pizza with toppings that require chopping and pre-cooking. This pizza isn’t difficult, and it’s one of my favorites for when I want something nontraditional. I have a bottle of pomegranate molasses that I impulse-bought from The Spice House, but I think you could just add twice the amount of pomegranate juice and let it reduce. I often don’t like cinnamon in savory recipes, but the flavor blends in perfectly here.

We still took turns eating while the other soothed the baby, but at least we got to eat something that wasn’t made specifically because it takes well to freezing. We’re making progress! And I’m grateful, because it means more meals like this.

Lahmahjoon (Armenian Lamb Pizza) (adapted from Eating Well)

See here for baking instructions using a baking steel.

I used a slicing tomato instead of plum tomato because Dave did the shopping and I forgot to specify which type I wanted. But you should use plum tomatoes if you can.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, minced
8 ounces ground lamb
½ teaspoon salt
4 medium plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound prepared pizza dough
⅓ cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta
1 tablespoon pine nuts
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1. Place a pizza stone on the lowest rack in the oven; heat the oven to its highest setting, at least 500 degrees. Line a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the oil, then add the shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the lamb and salt, and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down, about 3 minutes. Stir in the pomegranate molasses, cinnamon, and pepper.

3. Divide the dough in half. Stretch a portion of dough to a 10-inch round; lay it on the parchment paper. If necessary to even out thick areas and fix the shape of the dough, pull the edges to an even circle. Spread half of the lamb mixture over the dough, then top with half of the feta and pine nuts.

4. Transfer the pizza on the parchment paper to the heated stone. Cook until the bottom of the crust is spottily browned, 6-7 minutes. Use the metal spatula and pizza peel to remove the pizza from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Sprinkle half of the parsley evenly over the pizza. Cool for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.

Filed Under: cheese, lamb, nuts, pizza, yeast bread

slow ferment pizza dough

10/30/2015 By bridget

Since I make pizza once every two weeks or so, it’s only natural that my dough recipe has evolved over the years. The recipe I’ve been using lately doesn’t bear much resemblance to my favorite from several years ago beyond the obvious flour, water, and yeast. My current favorite couldn’t be easier to make – with a few caveats.

The first is that it’s best if you think ahead – far ahead, if you can. I usually mix the dough on Monday night to cook it on Friday night. That being said, if I didn’t decide I wanted pizza until Thursday, I’d still use this recipe, with just a one-night rest.

The second is that I’m using flour I special-ordered from Italy. I’ve entered the deep end, where flour for pizza is no longer taken out of the grocery budget, it comes out of my fun money allowance. But then I tried the recipe with bread flour (King Arthur), and to be honest, it was so good that it doesn’t seem like the special flour is worth the splurge.

So, thinking in advance helps, and fancy flour might help, but after that, it’s just mixing up flour, water, yeast, sugar, and salt. I don’t bother with a whole wheat pre-dough; I just use half whole wheat flour in the dough, and the long wait in the fridge is plenty of time to soften the grains. I also don’t put much effort into kneading the dough. I mix it, put it in the fridge overnight, and spend a minute or two kneading it once it’s evenly hydrated. If you’d rather do all the work up front and forget about it for a few days, you can just knead it longer right after you mix it up.

Then it sits in the back of the fridge until I’m ready for it at the end of the week. I come home from work on Friday, take the dough out to warm up, and go sit in my favorite chair with a book and my cat. An hour or two later, somewhat refreshed, the dough is easy to stretch out to a circle and ready to top.

Another pizza splurge I indulged in last year was a Baking Steel. It does make homemade pizza better, and I recommend it, but of course a pizza stone will do a fine job too. With the Baking Steel, it gets so hot that the dough crisps and browns within a few minutes, so I put it on a high rack and turn the broiler on when the pizza goes in. This is not recommended with a stone, since the direct heat could cause it to crack (heck, in my experience, anything causes them to crack!).

And then you’ve got pizza as good as you can get with a home oven. The bottom is crisp and browned, the middle is full of bubbles, the dough has great flavor on its own, even without whatever delicious toppings you pile on top. I’ve been making this new favorite for almost a year, and I have no plans to change it up – but you never know. There’s always something new to try, so maybe in a few years, I’ll be sharing yet another new and improved pizza method.

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Slow Ferment Pizza Dough (adapted from Serious Eats’ Cold-Fermented Pizza Dough)

I’ve reduced the yeast from Kenji’s recipe, because with the full amount, my fermented dough was developing an unpleasant sour aroma.

Whether baking on a steel or a stone, I’ve found that the dough is easiest to transfer to the oven with parchment paper, but it crisps and browns better if the paper is removed once the dough sets. Furthermore, a baking steel is hot enough to burn the paper after a couple minutes in the oven, creating a mess.

10 ounces (2 cups) bread flour or 00 flour
10 ounces (2 cups) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon salt
⅔ teaspoon yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
1¾ cups water

1. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients until there are no dry bits remaining. Tightly cover and store in the refrigerator, at least overnight or up to 5 days. The following day, knead the dough for about a minute, until it’s smooth and elastic. Cover and refrigerate. (Alternatively, the dough can be kneaded for about 5 minutes right after mixing, with no additional kneading necessary.)

2. About two hours before baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Use a dough scraper or rubber spatula to transfer the dough from the bowl to a damp dishtowel or a lightly floured surface. Use a knife to divide the dough in half. Shape each portion into a ball. Cover the dough balls loosely with plastic wrap; leave at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, until the dough is easily stretched.

3. About 45 minutes before baking the pizzas, place a baking steel (about 6 inches from the broiler) or pizza stone (lowest rack) in the oven; heat the oven to its hottest setting. Line a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Stretch one portion of dough to a 10- to 12-inch round; lay it on the parchment paper. If necessary to even out thick areas and fix the shape of the dough, pull the edges to an even circle. Top with desired toppings.

5. Transfer the pizza on the parchment paper to the heated steel or stone. If using a steel, immediately turn the oven off and the broiler on to its hottest setting. After 1 minute, use a metal spatula to lift the pizza while using tongs to remove the parchment paper. Continue cooking until the cheese is bubbling and the bottom of the crust is spottily browned, about 4 additional minutes for a baking steel or 6-7 minutes for a baking stone. Use the metal spatula and pizza peel to remove the pizza from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Cool for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Filed Under: bread, favorites, italian, pizza, whole grains, yeast bread

pizza with zucchini, goat cheese, and lemon

08/27/2015 By bridget

Thank god for my zucchini plant. Despite some cucumber beetles and slugs, it is growing quite nicely. This is in contrast to most of my other plants. The tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber plants are all just barely holding on, and of course I can’t figure out what’s wrong with them. Seeing the huge, green zucchini plant and cutting off a zucchini every few days makes me feel much better.

Almost all of my zucchinis so far have gone into enchiladas with goat cheese and black beans, but I saved one for a light, summery pizza. The zucchini is julienned and salted to draw out liquid, so it doesn’t waterlog the pizza. If you’re lucky, it might brown a bit in the oven too.

I’m not completely sold on the slices of lemon called for in the original recipe; even sliced paper-thin, they still caused a few shockingly lemony bites. I did like the hit of tartness though, so I think a quick squeeze of lemon juice on the just-baked pizza would be a nice substitute. I’ll have to try that next time; since my garden apparently won’t be producing gazpacho ingredients, I’ll just make more zucchini pizza.

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Pizza with Zucchini, Goat Cheese, and Lemon Pizza (adapted from The Food Lab)

Makes one 10-inch pizza

I use a baking steel, not a baking stone. I’ve found that it makes for a lighter crust with a crisper base. However, if you leave the parchment paper on the steel under the broiler for the full five minutes, it will burn to a blackened flaky crisp. After one minute under the broiler, I use a spatula to lift the edge of the pizza and pull out the parchment paper with tongs.

¾ pound pizza dough (⅓ of this recipe)
1 small zucchini
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced into 1-inch cubes
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Place a pizza stone on a rack about 5 inches below the broiler and heat the oven as high as it goes for at least 45 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball; cover and set aside for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

2. Slice the zucchini into rounds ⅛-inch thick, then slice each round into slivers ⅛-inch thick. In a small bowl, combine the zucchini, garlic, and salt; set aside for 30 minutes.

3. Drain the zucchini, then transfer it to a kitchen towel; squeeze it as dry as possible. Transfer the zucchini back to the empty bowl, add the oil, and stir to evenly coat it.

4. Gently flatten the dough, then pick it up and stretch it out to about 10 inches, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, piece it together. If the dough stretches unevenly, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots.

5. Line a pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet) with parchment paper and transfer the round of dough to the peel, rearranging it to something reasonably circular. Top with the mozzarella, then the zucchini and goat cheese. Transfer the pizza with the parchment paper to the hot pizza stone.

6. Immediately turn the oven off and the broiler on (to high, if yours has settings). Bake the pizza for about 5 minutes, until the bottom crust is spotty browned. Transfer the pizza to a cooling rack and drizzle the lemon juice evenly over the top, then evenly distribute the scallions over the pizza. Cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Filed Under: cheese, citrus, italian, pizza, summer, vegetables, vegetarian

pumpkin apple pizza

11/25/2014 By bridget

As a general rule, I’m not a big fan of adding fruit to savory foods – but the more I try to define that rule, the more exceptions I find to it. I like the occasional salad with dried currants, figs on pizza, bacon-wrapped dates, cranberry sauce on my turkey sandwiches. I won’t be adding fruit to every salsa I make, but clearly I’m not completely grossed out by sweet/savory combinations.

Still, I strongly considered leaving the apples off of this pizza. I don’t even love apples and pumpkin together in desserts, much less for dinner. But Kenji indicated that the apples would blend in, enhancing the pumpkin more than calling attention to themselves, so I compromised and kept the apples, but reduced them by half.

I don’t agree that the apples blended in; for me, they were the strongest flavor. But, surprisingly for this supposed sweet+savory hater, it was a flavor that I liked. Pumpkin on its own is more earthy than sugary, and that combined with salty pancetta and three types of cheese made sweet cubes of apple a nice contrast. I have yet another exception to my no-fruit-in-dinner rule, but I still don’t think I’ll be adding pineapple to my guacamole anytime soon.

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Pumpkin Apple Pizza (rewritten and slightly changed from The Food Lab)

Makes 4 generous servings

I made half the recipe but cooked the entire pumpkin and apple, using the leftovers and more cheese to top crostini the next day.

You can leave the pancetta out (using 1 tablespoon butter to cook the apples and wedge of pumpkin), but I really like the combination of cured pork with winter squash.

1 pound homemade or store-bought pizza dough
1 small sugar pumpkin, quartered, seeds and pulp discarded
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch grated nutmeg
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 crisp baking apple, such as Golden Delicious, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves, plus ¼ cup roughly torn leaves, divided
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded gruyère cheese
6 ounces (1½ cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 ounces (½ cup) grated parmesan cheese
2 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place three of the four pumpkin wedges in a medium oven-safe skillet. Spray or rub with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, until the pumpkin flesh is very tender. Scrape the flesh from the skins; transfer to a medium mixing bowl and mix in the maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.

2. Place a pizza stone on a rack about 3 inches below the broiler and heat the oven as high as it goes. Shape the dough into 2 balls; cover and set aside for 10 to 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax so the dough will be easier to stretch.

3. Peel and dice the remaining wedge of pumpkin. Heat the same skillet used to roast the pumpkin over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until its fat has rendered and it begins to brown (it will finish browning while the pizza bakes); transfer to a plate. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the diced pumpkin and apple to the rendered pancetta fat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons minced sage. Set aside.

3. Gently flatten the dough, then pick it up and stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots.

4. Line a pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet) with parchment paper and transfer the round of dough to the paper, rearranging it to something reasonably circular. Spread the roasted pumpkin mixture over the dough, leaving the outer ½-inch of dough uncovered. Top with half of the gruyere and half of the mozzarella, then half the pancetta, half the diced pumpkin and apples, and half of the remaining sage leaves. Top with half the parmesan. Transfer the pizza to the hot pizza stone.

5. Immediately turn the oven off and the broiler on (to high, if yours has settings). Bake the pizza for about 4-6 minutes, until the bottom is spotty browned and the cheese is bubbling. Transfer the pizza to a cooling rack; sprinkle with half the scallions. Cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Filed Under: appetizers, cheese, fall, fruit, pizza, vegetables

pizza with brussels sprouts, bacon, and goat cheese

12/23/2013 By bridget

Does it seem like this holiday season has been a lot crazier than normal? It’s must be because Thanksgiving was late this year, which meant that all of the shopping, baking, and socializing had to be squished into about four weeks instead of five like last year. Even if you’re organized enough to start shopping and baking ahead of time, there’s still the parties – the office party, the other office party, the cookie decorating party, the cookie exchange, and on and on.

In addition to all that, we ended up being part of yet another office party, this one at the Big Boss’s house, which is not an invitation you turn down. I wasn’t feeling like I had time for the party and definitely not for the baking I’d agreed to do for the party, so I had some relief when it got postponed and I got to stay home and make this pizza instead.

It sounds weird, I know. But it’s my favorite vegetable and one of my favorite cheeses, plus bacon, plus bread, so I knew it couldn’t be bad. The bacon, it turns out, really makes it, adding an element of sweetness to go with the nutty vegetables and tangy cheese. This pizza and a quiet night at home was exactly what I needed this holiday season.

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Brussels Sprout, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Pizza (from Shutterbean via Pink Parsley)

1 pound pizza dough (⅓ of this recipe)
4 slices of bacon, diced
6 ounces (about 6) Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella
¼ cup (2 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
¼ cup (½ ounce) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place a pizza stone on a rack about 3 inches below the broiler and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Shape the dough into a ball; cover and set aside for 10 to 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

2. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until it’s just barely crisp, about 8 minutes; use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate. Remove all but about a thin coating of fat in the pan. Add the Brussels sprouts and shallots and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar. Set aside.

3. Flatten the dough, then pick it up and gently stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots.

4. Line a pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet) with parchment paper and transfer the round of dough to the peel, rearranging it to something reasonably circular. Top with the mozzarella, then the Brussels sprouts mixture, goat cheese, and parmesan. Transfer the pizza to the hot pizza stone.

5. Immediately turn the oven off and the broiler on (to high, if yours has settings). Bake the pizza for about 5 minutes, until the bottom is spotty browned and the cheese is bubbling. Transfer the pizza to a cooling rack; cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Filed Under: bread, cheese, pizza, pork, vegetables

pizza with ricotta, caramelized onions, and prosciutto

10/21/2012 By bridget

My pizza making goes in phases. I’ll go through long stretches where, every other Friday, I’m arranging turkey pepperoni over green chile-spiked tomato sauce. If I want to get fancy, I’ll add sliced mushrooms.

And then that will turn around, and each pizza for months will be different from last. Rarely do these varied pizzas have tomato sauce and mozzarella; it seems that if I’m choosing anything resembling a traditional pizza, it’s going to be topped with that pepperoni and green chile. In fact, of the last few pizzas I’ve made, this is the only one that even uses predominately Italian ingredients.

But those ingredients make it a safe bet, because you can never go wrong with creamy fresh ricotta, salty prosciutto, and sweet onions. The original recipe made the onions into a marmalade with sugar and balsamic vinegar, but I think caramelized onions are plenty sweet on their own. I chose to add the prosciutto after removing the pizza from the oven, instead of before baking, because I find the baked prosciutto turns into little more than crisp bits of salt. Letting the heat of the pizza soften the bite-sized pieces of ham leaves their meaty flavor. Altogether, it makes for a worthy departure from pepperoni and green chile.

One year ago: Turkey Ricotta Meatloaf
Two years ago: Red Kidney Bean Curry
Three years ago: Brown Rice with Black Beans
Four years ago: Mulled Cider

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Pizza with Ricotta, Caramelized Onions, and Prosciutto (adapted from The New York Times via Smitten Kitchen)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
salt
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 ounces prosciutto, cut or torn into approximately 1-inch pieces
1 cup ricotta cheese (made from 4 cups milk, if homemade)
1 pound pizza dough, fully risen and at room temperature (⅓ of this recipe)

1. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees.

2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering; stir in the onions and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions just begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the crushed red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened and are medium golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.

3. Meanwhile, shape the dough into a ball. Set it aside for 10 to 30 minutes, loosely covered, to allow the gluten to relax.

4. Working on a lightly floured surface or a damp cloth, flatten the dough, then pick it up and gently stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots. Transfer the round of dough to a large square of parchment paper; slide the parchment with the dough onto a pizza peel.

5. Spread the ricotta evenly over the dough, then evenly disperse the onions over the ricotta. Slide the pizza with the parchment onto the hot baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is browned around the edges. Transfer the pizza to a cooling rack without the parchment. Top with the prosciutto. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Filed Under: cheese, italian, pizza, pork, vegetables

pizza with lamb meatballs, caramelized onions, and parsley

05/04/2012 By bridget

The disadvantage of only working every other Friday is that the longer 5-day weeks seem like an eternity. When will it end? How can it be only Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday? I have to wake up to an alarm again? Torture! It’s not that I don’t like my job, it’s just that I like the weekends so much more.

I get by by keeping my eye on the prize, and by “prize”, I mean when I come home from work on Friday afternoon, grab my book and a beer, and go sit in the backyard. I plan the rest of my week so that Friday after work is a No Chore Zone. The groceries should be shopped for, the dishwasher should be emptied, the house should not be a pigsty. I don’t want any detours between putting down my work bag and heading out to the backyard to read in the sun.

An hour or two later, refreshed, I’ll come in to make dinner. These long weeks always call for pizza on Friday. If I lived somewhere with a good takeout option, I would welcome that, but instead, I make my own, which has the added advantage of whole wheat crust and skim milk cheese (I think it melts better anyway). Not to mention – when was the last time you saw lamb meatballs on a pizza menu?

This pizza, one of the best I’ve made recently, is a perfect example of my pizza formula, with savory lamb, sweet onions, bitter parsley, and the traditional acidic tomato sauce and salty cheese. It’s more work than your average pizza, what with the onions needing to be cooked and, most tediously, the tiny meatballs, but it’s worth the extra effort, even on a Friday night after a long workweek – provided that I get my beer and book in the backyard first.

One year ago: Marbled Loaf Cake
Two years ago: Corned Beef Hash
Three years ago: Roasted Baby Artichokes
Four years ago: Rice and Beans

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Pizza with Lamb Meatballs, Caramelized Onions, and Parsley (inspired by Bon Appétit)

Serves 6

I tried this with both fresh mozzarella and the firmer type, and while they were equally tasty, the firmer cheese did a better job of gluing the meatballs to the pizza. Lamb meatballs that roll onto the floor to get coated in cat hair are sad.

12 ounces ground lamb
1 egg
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 onions, halved and sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 pounds pizza dough (⅔ of this recipe), fully risen
1 (14-ounce) can whole or diced tomatoes packed in juice (not puree), drained
8 ounces (2 cup) shredded mozzarella
1 ounce (½ cup) grated parmesan
¼ cup minced parsley

1. Use your hands to evenly combine the lamb, egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Form the mixture into balls about ½-inch in diameter. In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the meatballs and cook until well browned on a couple sides, about 4 minutes, turning about once a minute with a spatula. Wipe out the skillet.

2. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering; stir in the onions and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions just begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened and are medium golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.

3. Meanwhile, place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Divide the dough in half; shape each portion into a ball. Let the balls of dough relax for 10 to 30 minutes.

4. Pulse the tomatoes in a food processor 10-12 times, until they’re pureed. Transfer them to a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl and let them drain, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes. Discard the liquid in the bowl, transfer the tomatoes from the strainer to the now-empty bowl, and stir in a pinch of pepper and ⅛ teaspoon of salt.

5. Flatten the dough, then pick it up and gently stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots.

6. Line a pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet) with parchment paper and transfer the round of dough to the peel, rearranging it to something reasonably circular. Spread half of the sauce over the dough, then top with half of the mozzarella, meatballs, onions, and parmesan. Transfer the pizza to the hot pizza stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the bottom of the crust is spotty brown. Remove the pizza from the oven, sprinkle half of the parsley over it, and let it cool on cooling rack for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Filed Under: cheese, italian, lamb, pizza, vegetables

pizza with prosciutto, goat cheese, and roasted tomatoes

04/09/2012 By bridget

I wrote out a formula for pizza. And I realize that for some people, that takes the fun out of developing recipes, but I’m a scientist, so what do you expect from me? And here’s what I decided:

Many of my favorite foods have a balance of the five basic flavors – sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, and then I’m going to add heat or spice to this as well. A traditional pizza incorporates most of these; tomato sauce is acidic and rich in umani, the crust is often just a bit sweet, the cheese is salty, and a sprinkling of red chile flakes adds heat. Beyond the flavors, I like pizza best when there’s some sort of sauce (like tomato sauce, obviously), a glue (this would be the mozzarella in a traditional pizza), and toppings.

For this pizza, I started with goat cheese, because I hadn’t had it in a while and I love it. Goat cheese is tart, or sour, so that takes care of that flavor, but unlike many other cheeses, it doesn’t make a very good glue, so it would be incorporated as either the sauce or a topping. I wanted something sweet, and caramelized onions would be great, but slow-roasted tomatoes could work as well. Tomatoes have umami, but I thought meaty prosciutto would also go particularly well with the goat cheese. And I liked prosciutto better with tomatoes than onions. Prosciutto is salty, as was the dusting of parmesan I couldn’t resist sprinkling on top.

That gave me a bunch of toppings, and I could make the goat cheese into a sauce, but I still needed glue. I decided to stick to good ol’ mozzarella. You can never go wrong with putting mozzarella on pizza. And I still felt like the pizza might be missing something, especially something with light, fresh flavors, so I mixed pesto into the goat cheese, which also made it into a more spreadable sauce-like consistency. Red pepper flakes, common on pizza, added spicy heat.

And then after all my pizza math, I realized that I had hardly varied from traditional pizza, with tomatoes, mozzarella, and cured meat. All I did was change the order of layering – that, and develop an infallible formula for an infinite number of future pizza recipes. I’ll call that a success on all counts.

One year ago: Protein Waffles
Two years ago: Cherry Tomato Salad
Three years ago: Coconut Butter Thins
Four years ago: Perfect Party Cake

Printer Friendly Recipe
Pizza with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, and Roasted Tomatoes

Makes one 12-inch pizza, serving about 3 people

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
salt
cooking spray
1 pound pizza dough (⅓ of this recipe)
2 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons pesto
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 ounces (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup (½ ounce) freshly grated parmesan
2 ounces prosciutto, sliced

1. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Adjust another rack to the middle oven position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Arrange the tomatoes, cut-side up, on the baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with salt and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes, until shriveled. Remove the tomatoes from the oven, set aside, and increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees.

2. Shape the dough into a ball. Set it aside for 10 to 30 minutes, loosely covered, to allow the gluten to relax. In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, pesto, and red pepper flakes.

3. Working on a lightly floured surface or a damp cloth, flatten the dough, then pick it up and gently stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots. Transfer the round of dough to a large square of parchment paper; slide onto a pizza peel.

4. Spread the goat cheese mixture over the dough, then evenly disperse the mozzarella, tomatoes, and parmesan over the goat cheese. Slide the pizza with the parchment onto the hot baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is browned around the edges. Transfer the pizza to a cooling rack without the parchment. Top with the prosciutto. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Filed Under: cheese, italian, pizza, pork, vegetables

squash kale pizza

12/16/2011 By bridget

This recipe knocked me out of a months-long pizza rut. At about two homemade pizza dinners a month, that’s a lot of green chile-turkey pepperoni-mushroom pizza. Not that anyone around here was complaining.

It’s the complimentary earthy flavor that squash and kale both have, combined with the contrasting sweetness of the squash and slight bitterness of the kale that make this pizza work so well. Onions with savory centers and caramelized tips bridge the gap, then the whole thing is topped with plenty of cheese, which is what really matters. I don’t know if it’s going to rival green chile-turkey pepperoni-mushroom for our next rut, but it was definitely a nice diversion.

One year ago: Beef in Barolo
Two years ago: Steak au Poivre
Three years ago: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Printer Friendly Recipe
Kale and Butternut Squash Pizza (from Bev Cooks via Cate’s World Kitchen)

I used acorn squash the first time I made this and delicata squash the second time. So technically, I haven’t made butternut squash and kale pizza yet!

Dough for two 10-inch pizza crusts (half of this recipe)
1½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-sized cubes
2 small red onions, cut into wedges
3 cups kale (from about 1 bunch), cut in thin ribbons
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Divide the dough in two and shape each portion into a ball. Set the balls of dough aside for 10 to 30 minutes, loosely covered, to allow the gluten to relax.

2. Transfer the squash and onions to a large baking sheet; season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and coat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Bake, stirring once halfway through, until softened and browned, about 30 minutes.

3. Heat the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil with the garlic in a large skillet; add the kale and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4. Work with one ball of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface or a damp cloth. Flatten the dough, then pick it up and gently stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots. Transfer the round of dough to a large square of parchment paper; slide onto a pizza peel.

5. Top the dough with half of each of the roasted vegetables, kale, and cheese. Slide the pizza with the parchment onto the hot baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is browned around the edges. Transfer the pizza to a cooling rack without the parchment. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before serving. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Filed Under: bread, cheese, fall, pizza, vegetables, vegetarian