Pizza – Grow. Cook. Eat.

May 4, 2010

Intrepid Forager (Recipe: Artichoke Pizza)

Hundreds of years ago, some brave and patient soul stumbled across the artichoke plant and decided to eat it. He was brave for wanting to put something so fibrous and prickly into his mouth. And patient… because I’m sure the first attempt at eating the artichoke was not a pleasant one. Somehow, this adventurous person figured out that we must trim the artichoke and then cook it, either by steaming or braising.

What our culinary ancestors discovered, the Italians improved upon, and my former boss Lydia Shire further embellished. Her standard artichoke preparation was braised in olive oil with capers, garlic, parsley and anchovies. The olive oil tamed the acrid after-taste that makes artichokes so difficult to pair with wine. And the anchovies lend a salty je ne sais quoi (in the same way that fish sauce gives Vietnamese and Thai food depth).

These artichokes are wonderful in risotto or roasted and stuffed. My favorite preparation from Lydia was the skillet pizza – a white pizza topped with the parmesan, St. Andre cheese and truffle oil. Currently, I don’t have truffle oil in my pantry, but I did have some first cuttings of arugula and scallions in the garden, which lightened the otherwise rich dish.

Artichoke Pizza

pizza dough, store-bought or home-made
1 shallot, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 scallion, cut in rounds
2 braised artichokes
3 oz. St. andre cheese
2 oz. ricotta salata, grated
2 oz. parmesan, grate
1/4 cup olive oil

Sweat shallots and garlic in olive oil.
Form dough in a well oiled skillet.
Garnish pizza with artichokes, garlic and shallots, cheeses and scallions

March 29, 2010

Brick Oven Pizza at Home

“Brick-oven” pizzas are revered because the brick bottomed ovens get screaming hot and retain heat very well. And, in fact, all pizza ovens are set at about 700F, some getting as hot as 800F. This high heat gets the crust extra-crispy, and prevents the toppings from sogging up the dough.

Getting a crispy crust at home is more challenging. Most ovens max out at 500F. Pizza stones mimic the pizza oven floor in that they absorb heat and will get that much hotter than the ambient air of the oven.

I don’t have a pizza stone, but still have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting a crispy crust:

The first, I pre-fry the dough in canola oil before topping and baking the pizza. During the baking process, the oil releases itself from the dough helping to further crisp the crust. This has been my default, but it does have a few drawbacks – mainly that it adds extra fat along with the extra step.

Lately, I’ve been baking my pizzas on the floor of the oven. This gives the crust direct, intense heat as opposed to the ambient heat of baking the pizza on a lower shelf. With this method, the crust crisps up in about 5 minutes. You can then move the pizza to a higher shelf to finish browning the toppings.

Pizza is a great way to use up left-overs. From last night’s dinner, I had some eggplant and smoked tomato coulis. With the addition of fresh mozzarella, I had a perfect dinner for both kids and adults!

There is no "perfect" recipe for pizza. It's really a matter of what you're in the mood for and what you have on hand. Here's my recipe for pizza dough.

Dough
1 cup water
1 tsp. yeast
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup semolina
2 tbs. olive oil
1 ½ tsp salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

1. Heat water to 105F. Dissolve yeast in water. In a separate bowl, combine flour, semolina, salt and sugar.

2. Using a dough hook, combine flours, yeasted water and olive oil. Knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with plastic and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and form into pizza rounds.

Place dough on cookie sheet before topping.

November 4, 2008

Birthday Pizza

For my (ahem) 30th birthday party, I hosted a “pot-luck” dinner at my friend Paul’s restaurant, Daddy-O’s. I asked my chef-friends to bring a dish, and my friend-friends to bring a donation to my favorite charity, Operation Frontline. The warmth of my friends and family, good food and wine created a unforgettable evening.

The highlight of the meal was the Portobello – Pomegranate Pizza, which came courtesy of Susan Regis. It has become a staple in my repertoire and makes a regular appearance at my annual dinner party. The sweet crunchy pomegranate seeds create a bright contrast to the earthy, rich mushrooms. A drizzle of truffle oil elevates the flavors to a new high.

Portobello and Pomegranate Pizetta with Truffle Scented Arugula
pizza dough
4 shallots, sliced
10 garlic cloves, sliced
2 scallions, cut in rounds
2 oz. fresh grated parmesan
2 oz. ricotta salata, grated
4 portobellos, sliced
1 POM fresh pomegranate, shelled
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. truffle oil
1 tbs. butter
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 bunch arugula
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
fresh shaved parmesan (opt.)

1. Sweat shallots and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, until translucent, but not browned.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium high flame. Add butter. When butter is melted, and mushrooms. Cook with out stirring for 2-3 minutes. Spoon about 2 tbs. shallot/garlic mix on top. Sprinkle thyme on top. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes more. Set aside.

3. Divide dough into 6 balls. Roll dough into rounds, as thin as possible and place on a pizza stone or cookie sheet (dusted with cornmeal). Garnish pizza with garlic and shallots, cheeses, portobellos, pomegranates and scallions. Bake in 450F oven until crust is crispy on the bottom, about 10 minutes.

4. Toss arugula with truffle oil and lemon juice. Garnish cooked pizza with the arugula (and fresh shaved parmesan). Cut and serve.

Dough

2 cups water
2/3 oz. fresh yeast
1 # bread flour
10 oz. semolina
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. salt

Heat water to 105F. Dissolve yeast in water. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and semolina. Combine flours, yeasted water and olive oil. Knead for 10 minutes. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with plastic and let rise in warm place until doubled. Punch down and form.