Wednesday, April 27, 2011

let's talk about pizza

If you are trying to fill your life with healthy things, then I'm betting that "pizza" is maybe a dirty word....right? It's a greasy, cheesy, fat laden mess.

But it doesn't have to be. 
In the summer, we eat pizza about once a week--and load it up with whatever veggies we pulled from our own back yard or brought home from the farmer's market, so each time we make it, it's a little bit different. 
arugula pizza copy

Crust 
(recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

*this will make 4 pizzas--I freeze the dough so I can pull it out in a hurry

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1-1 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for bowl

Directions

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in an additional bread flour; continue adding flour (up to 1/2 cup), 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until dough comes away from bowl but is still sticky.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead with lightly floured hands. Start by slapping the dough onto the counter, pulling it toward you with one hand and pushing it away from you with the other. Fold the dough back over itself (use a bench scraper or a wide knife to help scrape dough from surface). Repeat until it's easier to handle, about 10 times. Finish kneading normally until dough is smooth, elastic, and soft, but a little tacky, about 10 minutes.
Shape dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic, and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume. Press it with your finger to see if it's done; an indent should remain.

Meanwhile, scrape dough out of the bowl onto floured surface, and cut it into 4 pieces. Shape into balls. Dust with flour, and cover with plastic. Let rest, 20 to 30 minutes, allowing dough to relax and almost double.
Holding top edge of 1 dough ball in both hands, let bottom edge touch work surface (refrigerate remaining balls as you work). Carefully move hands around edge to form a circle, as if turning a wheel. Hold dough on back of your hand, letting its weight stretch it into a 12-inch round. Transfer dough to a lightly floured pizza peel (or an inverted baking sheet). Press out edges using your fingers. Jerk peel; if dough sticks, lift, and dust more flour underneath.

We like our pizza grilled:
Place dough onto oiled pizza pan. Place on grill preheated to medium high heat.
Grill until crust is almost done on one side.
Flip the crust, and add your favorite toppings to the side that's done. Place back on grill (lid down) until cheese is melted, edges are golden, and we like the bottom a bit blackened.

sauce:
in the summer I always use fresh tomatoes--just crushed up a bit and spread around on the crust. For now I just used a good can of whole tomatoes, and spread them around.

toppings:
-mozzarella cheese
-carmelized onions
-roasted red peppers
-a few pieces of prosciutto, torn up
-a few crumbles of herbed goat cheese
.....after the pizza is cooked, we added arugula to the top (don't knock it till you try it....), and a splash of balsamic.

yum.

see some of our other pizza favs here
what do you like on your pizza?

20 comments:

Lillian said...

yuuuum - we love pizza around here, too! I usually make pw's crust and sub 1/2 whole wheat flour, so I think I'll try yours now - can't wait:) We love lots of what you do - goat cheese and arugula are my faves. Also included at some point in the summer are usually olives, mushrooms, peppers, eggplant, broccoli. And always onions and garlic!

Laura @ Laura Likes Design said...

Mmm, that looks so good! My favorite pizza is either veggie or pineapple.

Joe said...

A staple in our house is "salad pizza." We make a crust, and just brush it with a little olive oil and grate some fresh parmesan over it. Cook it, and serve it with a nice salad. Some of our family puts the salad right on the crust and eats it that way.

Anonymous said...

Yum! Those toppings sound amazing (even at 8am!). I love to experiment with BBQ chicken and caramlized onions. I have also done an apple, onion and cheddar combo with a light sauce, which was tasty. Excited to try your crust recipe!

Anonymous said...

I agree with you! I think that pizza is a healthy food, in its origin. I LOOOVE making it, not to say devouring it! I always make the crust, from an italian recipe I found in a mag, I make tomato sauce with basil and oregano, I stuff it with seasonal veggies (love onions, peppers and olives) and I use a bit of yellow cheese (either greek graviera or kaseri) and also some feta cheese for its saltiness.
Why don't you try it out yourself?
Nice posting!

Anna said...

We love making pizza and are hoping to get a grill this summer. Do you just grill the pizza on the pan or do you put it right on the bars of the grill? Just wondering. Your pizza looks very tasty!

Unknown said...

yummm.... seriously i could eat this for breakfast. our favorite pizza over here is ceaser pizza. we make homemade dough, grill it and add all our fav veggies with a little dressing on top!

melissa said...

i love greens on my pizza, especially arugula. mmm. but i also love our local pizza place's greasy totally non good for you pizza too. and i always will.

infinitezest said...

I either like it:
-slathered with a garlic marinara sauce, chunks of garlic, spinach and peppers

-salami, black olives, green peppers, red pepper flakes, and fresh tomatoes

-swiss chard, garlic, pine nuts, fresh tomatoes

too many options! those are my favorite though

dust and kam said...

a random question: where do you buy your arugula?

We can't find it in our tiny town, but every time we head north to Provo/SLC I try to find it, but I have been unsuccessful. We also tried to grow it last year, but again... unsuccessful. Do you grow your own? tips? advice?

thank you!! :)

Rachael said...

That's pretty awesome that you have a garden where you can pull vegetables whenever you want!
I would totally want a garden if/when I ever get my own bit of yard!
But your blog is really influencing for me. Just today I was looking in the kitchen for something to snack on, and I thought about what you said once about 'Why would you buy something from the store that you can make yourself?'. Although I didn't make something, since I felt lazy at that moment, but that's one of the biggest things I've learned from you. So thank you!

Allison said...

My boyfriend and I make homemade pizza almost weekly. He's in charge of the crust (using his mother's old Danish recipe that's half written in english, all in the metric system, and contains lots of words like "a bit" and "until done" :)), and I get the toppings ready.

Our favourite pies are

(1) roasted tomatoes, mozzerella, feta, lots of roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts + olives

(2) roasted tomatoes, smoked mozerella, spicy sausage, basil, mushrooms, onions, olives + tons of roasted garlic

Grilling the pizza is such a delicious-sounding idea! I can't wait to try that this summer :)

Sabrina said...

I'm so glad you explained how to grill a pizza. Last summer we made tomato, basil and mozarella pizza almost weekly. I'll have to get a metal pizza pan, we just have a stone pan.

Allison said...

Loooove making pizza at home. We don't usually do a sauce, instead just a little garlic olive oil, some veggies, and a sprinkling of cheese. Sooo good.

MegSmith @ Cooking.In.College said...

This pizza looks so wonderful! I have stopped ordering it and just make it myself now. Fresh veggies and homemade crust is the only way to go!

That picture is gorgeous...

Laci said...

Yum is right. The balsamic sold me.
so..... is a pizza pan just a circle shaped pan? Yes, I just asked that ; )

Christina said...

Excited to try the balsamic! Margherita is my favorite homemade pizza, while the husband prefers BBQ chicken.

True*Lu said...

Wow! Sounds soooo good. Gonna have to try it soon. Thanks for this post. :)

sheena said...

anna: I have put it right on the grill......but it's much easier to keep it in the pan:)

kami: arugula is in season right now so you should be able to find it. It's at Sun Flower Market, Whole Foods, and I've even seen it at Target! Try planting it now--it likes it when it's not too hot.

Jackie Norris said...

I love pizza, too! There are so many possibilities. We just had a swiss, shallot & proscuitto pizza (with a bit of thyme, s&p) and it was SO good. If only we had a grill...