pizza Archives -

June 30, 2016

Chocolate Hazelnut Fruit Pizza {with Sourdough Crust}

Now that both of my children are home for the summer, I hope for us to spend lots of time together in the kitchen. Not necessarily cooking long and involved recipes, but I want them to learn how preparing nourishing foods can be simple, uncomplicated, and beautiful. This week we started out with these fruit pizzas, which make the most of the summer season’s best fruits.

May 20, 2015

Cremini Fontina Pizza

Pizza Fridays have recently made a comeback at our house, although it’s probably more accurate to say we’re more on an every other Friday routine. Combined with a movie night, it’s such a pleasant way to unwind, relax, and start the weekend with the kids. Pepperoni pizza seems to remain everyone’s favorite except mine, but Ryan and the kids have all been good sports about letting me sneak in another variety of pizza here and there. In terms of my favorite pizzas, I especially love this cremini fontina combination layered with garlic oil and a scattering of red onions. It’s just a tad more work than pepperoni pizza but completely worth the few extra minutes of preparation. I slightly adapted Jim Lahey’s no-knead pizza dough to make a whole wheat flax version that has become my go-to recipe for pizza dough. It’s simple, no-fuss, and the pizza turns out perfectly crusty and chewy every time. Just remember to start the dough the evening before to allow for an overnight rise. Here’s to many more family pizza/movie nights to come!

Cremini Fontina Pizza

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

Garlic Oil

2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil

Pizza

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¾ cup sliced red onion, about 1 small onion
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
½ recipe No-Knead Pizza Dough (see recipe below)

Instructions

Garlic Oil

In a saute pan, mix the garlic, red pepper, olive oil, and dash of salt. Warm over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and do not allow the garlic to brown. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Pizza

Preheat oven to 500. If using a pizza stone, preheat stone as well. (Ideally pizza stone should be preheated for an hour. This truly does make a difference.)
Using the same pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until onion begins to soften, about 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, another 4-5 minutes.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface or parchment paper. Gently stretch and shape pizza dough to a 12"-14" circle. Brush a layer of garlic oil over entire crust.
To assemble, layer the mozzarella and fontina cheeses followed by the mushroom onion mixture.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

No-Knead Whole Wheat Flax Pizza Dough

Ingredients

550 grams all-purpose flour, about 4 cups
270 grams whole wheat flour, about 2 cups
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2½ teaspoons salt
¼ + ⅛ teaspoon active dry yeast
2½ cups water

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients together except water. Gradually add water and stir with a wooden spoon until all of the flour is incorporated. Use hands if necessary to bring dough together. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 18-20 hours. Dough should double and appear bubbly when ready. Divide and form dough into 2 mounds. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rest another 20-30 minutes, until dough is pliable.
This makes enough for 2 12"-14" pizzas. I usually use half of the dough on one day and freeze the remaining half for another day.

Notes

adapted from Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough

June 9, 2014

Kale, Tomato, and Parmesan Pizza

We eats lots of kale around here. It’s such a versatile green; I can hardly imagine how I ever got along in the kitchen without it. Just in case you didn’t know, kale on pizza is marvelous. This Kale, Tomato, and Parmesan Pizza is one of my favorite vegetarian pizzas. Along with a garlicky crust, the kale gets nice and crispy, and the tomatoes add a bright pop of color and contrast in texture.

It is important to lay the kale on the pizza in a single layer otherwise the kale will not become crispy. Better to have a single layer of kale and not use up all of the kale, than to cram all of the kale onto the pizza just to use it up. If there happens to be a little extra kale leftover, roast it at 350 for 10-15 minutes to make kale chips. Also, slicing the tomatoes extra thin will ensure that they do not make the kale (and rest of the pizza) soggy. After all of the components are prepared, this pizza comes together fairly quickly. This recipe is enough for two medium pizzas and can easily be halved if you just want to make one. I hope you enjoy this kale pizza as much as we do!

Kale, Tomato, and Parmesan Pizza

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

20 ounces pizza dough
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
dash sea salt
6 ounces shredded mozzarella, about 1½ cups
2 ounces grated parmesan, about 1 cup
4 ounces coarsely torn kale pieces, about 4 cups lightly packed
2 roma tomatoes, very thinly sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven and pizza stone, if using, to 500.
In a saute pan, mix the garlic, red pepper, olive oil, and dash of salt. Warm over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and do not allow the garlic to brown. Transfer the olive oil mixture to a separate dish.
Without washing, use the same saute pan to saute the kale over medium heat until kale is slightly wilted, about 3 minutes.
Using half of the dough, roll or press dough until crust become thin. Brush a layer of the garlic olive oil over the entire crust.
To assemble, layer half of the shredded mozzarella on the crust. Continue by adding a single layer of kale, half the tomatoes, and half of the parmesan.
Repeat steps 4- 5 with the remaining ingredients.
Bake at 500 for 8-10 minutes.

Notes

adapted from Annie's Eats