While our house is indeed a very, very, very fine house, it does, at all times, hold at least three kinds of milk (one for each of us) and two kinds of vanilla soy milk for our coffee. It’s just that kind of place. Often, three slightly different versions of dinner are served to the three very different people at our table. None of us are shy about our opinions, and so instead of forcing each other into some common space, we celebrate that diversity is a wonderful thing. I only occasionally grouse about it!
So I make pizza often, a dish that is easy to customize. Last night, there were only two people home. I couldn’t stand the thought of one more pizza-with-red-sauce. F couldn’t quite wrap her head around the pizza I wanted with olive oil, greens, feta, pine nuts, and caramelized onions. We decided on pizza for dinner at about 4pm, so I had no time to thaw the pizza dough I keep in the freezer – made from the recipe that introduced me to Heidi.
I turned to Smitten Kitchen once again, to save us from certain starvation. You can make this pizza dough. If you have never, ever made any kind of yeast dough ever, you can do this. Trust me. Trust her. But you absolutely must try it. Because in 3 hours you can have the best non-overnight-fermented chewy, crispy pizza dough ever. I don’t say that lightly. In fact, I rarely say anything lightly, but that’s a whole separate post.
For F’s side, I threw together a tomato sauce (recipe below), sliced some green olives, tore up some mozzarella, and sprinkled on some turkey pepperoni. For my side, I caramelized some onions very slowly, crumbled some feta, toasted a few pine nuts, and lightly heated some baby bitter greens from our garden in a little olive oil. Once she actually ate a piece from “my” side, F asked me to make her one like that soon. I had to smile. The combination of the sweet onions and crunchy pine nuts, the bitter greens, and the salty feta is simply sublime. Everyone was happy.
This time, instead of using cornmeal on my pizza peel as I usually do, I tried parchment paper to transfer the pizza to the baking stone. The pizza crust stays on the parchment as it bakes. I was amazed. Same crispy bottom, no cornmeal smoke! (The pizza peel and the baking stone are completely optional. You can still get a fantastic crust with a metal pizza pan, so don’t let me hear you use that as an excuse, now!)
Fast and Easy Pizza Sauce
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 15-ounce can of petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 tablespoon of sun dried tomato paste (optional, it takes away that “tinned tomato” taste)
1 teaspoon oregano
Heat the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until golden, but not brown. Add the can of tomatoes with juice. Lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the tomato paste, if using, and the oregano (crush between your palms over the pan and let it fall in). Let simmer for 10 more minutes. Puree in food processor if you like your sauce smooth (optional step).
Pizza with Greens and Feta
One recipe Deb’s Simple Pizza Dough
Olive oil
Sautéed baby greens (Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium high heat, add 5 cups washed and dried baby greens of any kind – I used assorted bitter greens. Sauté just until wilted.)
Caramelized onions (Thinly slice one onion. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced onions, lower heat to medium low. Stirring occasionally, cook until golden and sweet. I usually add a splash of chicken broth towards the end of the cooking process. That allows me to use less oil.)
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (Heat a pan over medium high heat, add nuts. Stir nuts or shake pan – watch extremely closely to avoid burning them – until lightly toasted on all sides. Remove from pan immediately.)
Ready the stretched pizza dough on parchment paper, cornmeal dusted pizza peel or back of a cookie sheet (or on a pizza pan). Lightly brush with olive oil all the way to the edges of the dough. Spread the sautéed greens over the dough. Spread caramelized onions over the greens. Sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over the onions. Top with the toasted pine nuts. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Bake in a preheated 500 degree oven – on the lowest rack – for 12 minutes or until the crust is browned at the edges exactly to your liking. (If you are using a baking stone, make sure it preheats along with your oven. Transfer the pizza to the stone with utmost care to avoid burning yourself. Hmmm, how do you think I learned that one?)
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