Roasted Vegetable Pizza

On Wednesday I went to the Spruill Farmers Market in Sandy Springs (Georgia). It's a nice little market that sets up weekly and sells a variety of produce, dairy, meat, jams, and the like. For $37.50 I was able to get this:



I think that's a pretty nice catch for less than 40 bucks. In case some of it is difficult to see or identify, here's a list of the produce pictured above:
*3 sweet potatoes
*1 bunch rose turnips
*1 bunch carrots
*1 bunch kale
*1 bag braising greens (collards, mustard greens, and kale)
*1 bag chickweed
*1 bag totsoi (not sure I have the spelling correct on that one)
*2 winter squash
*7 1/2 oz fresh mozzarella

Charlie and I took some of the produce pictured above (along with a few other ingredients) and turned it into this:



Now, let me tell you something. I am a lucky woman for many, many reasons. I have a wonderful family, a husband who constantly wows me with his kindness and love, amazing friends, good health, a steady job, and such. All of that keeps me going, and I'm grateful for the good fortune I've had in my life. However, I think (and hope) most of those things are shared by a great many people. There is, however, one thing I have that most people don't, and that's a husband who makes awesome pizza. Isn't that lucky? Also, he has a knack for knowing when I'm exhausted and don't feel like cooking dinner. I love when Charlie calls and says he'd like to make a pizza for dinner. My reply is almost always an enthusiastic "Yes! Please!".
We decided to make a roasted vegetable pizza with some of our farmers market bounty. Charlie started by making dough. He's been working on the perfect pizza dough recipe for awhile, and after dozens of pizzas and constant tweaking I think he's finally achieved it.
While Charlie worked his magic on the dough I roasted vegetables. I decided to go with sunchokes (purchased at the Morningside Farmers Market last weekend), winter squash, and kale. I thought that combination would give the pizza a woodsy autumn flavor. I sliced the squash, tossed it with a little olive oil and kosher salt, then popped it in the oven (preheated to 375 degrees) for about 20 minutes.





I also thinly sliced the sunchokes (with the peel still on), treated them to a little oil and salt, and added them to the oven. They took a little longer to roast -- about 30 minutes total. (Sunchokes are also known as jerusalem artichokes, but they aren't from Jerusalem, and they aren't artichokes so I go with the farmsy (just made that word up!) term, sunchokes.)



Next up: kale! I gently sauteed a large handful in just a touch of olive oil, and then the veggies were ready! Charlie rolled out the dough, and we assembled our pizza.





Oooh...the fresh mozzarella is so tasty and melts into ooey gooey deliciousness. Bagged, shredded mozzarella just doesn't compare.
Charlie slid the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone, and 12 minutes later we had dinner!





Yum! Homemade pizza really is super easy to make and can be topped with anything you like. We've tried all sorts of toppings, from capers (nice and salty but you have to trap them with melted cheese or they just roll off) to anchovies (the fish flavor is intense...use sparingly!). It's a great weekday dinner as long as you remember to start the dough as soon as you get home from work.

Charlie's Pizza Dough

(adapted from Michael Ruhlman's Ratio suggestions)

ingredients:

2 cups semolina flour*

1/4 teaspoon yeast

6 oz water, lukewarm

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of red pepper flakes (or more if you want a spicier crust)

1 Tablespoon olive oil (we just use a nice glug), plus additional for oiling the bowl

cornmeal

In a medium bowl combine flour and yeast. Create a well in the center, and add water. Allow to rest 2 - 3 minutes. Add oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough begins to come together then add olive oil. Knead approximately 10 minutes or until dough is smooth, sticky, and bounces back when lightly touched. Lightly oil the inside of a medium bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to rise 1 - 1 1/2 hours. The dough will not double in size but will swell a little.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the center of the oven to preheat along with the oven.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with cornmeal. With floured hands, form the dough into a 8 - 10 inch circle with a flat center and slightly thicker edges (to form the crust), working some of the cornmeal into the dough as you shape it. (Use a gentle hand so you do not tear the dough as you work with it.) In order to prevent tearing, the final dough shaping should occur on whatever you will use to place the pizza in the oven. We use a pizza peel, but if you will be baking your pizza on a baking sheet you should use that at this point.

Top the pizza as you wish and place in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes. Let the cooked pizza rest for five minutes so the cheese and ingredients can settle, then dig in!

*For those of you in the Atlanta area, semolina flour can be purchased at the Dekalb Farmers Market. It can also be purchased in gourmet food shops, and I'm sure it's available for purchase online. Semolina is made of durham wheat and adds a unique texture to the pizza dough. If you are unable to find it, bread flour can be substituted.

Pizza and North Indian Butter Chicken -- what a lunch!

Charlie and I just made such a fantastic lunch, and I'm still buzzing from it.  We made a quick run to the Dekalb Farmer's Market this morning to pick up groceries for the weekend, and while we were there we decided to grab a pizza crust and some tomato sauce.  Now, I (we) usually try to make most everything that we eat.  BUT, the pizza crust and the tomato sauce were so beautiful and fresh (made today at the farmers market with all whole foods -- no preservatives) that I just thought oh, what the hell, and we threw them in the cart.  

We had three raw chicken thighs in the refrigerator so Charlie heated up a cast-iron pan (on the stove), sprinkled the chicken with kosher salt and cracked pepper, and seared the thighs for about 5 minutes on each side.  Then the pan went into the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 more minutes.  As the chicken cooked I topped the pizza crust with the spicy tomato sauce (full of basil, rosemary, onions, and the like), tossed on some mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and minced garlic.  We then tore some of the chicken into bite-sized pieces and placed that on top.  We shredded the remaining chicken and tossed it into a small baking dish with some leftover Indian Butter Sauce that I made a few days ago.  Everything went into the oven for ten minutes, which is just long enough to split a cold beer, and lunch was ready.  Delicious!

What a quick, easy, and thoroughly satisfying lunch.  As we enjoyed the pizza and the chicken we discussed keeping homemade pizza dough on hand.  It's so simple to make, but you do have to plan ahead as it takes some time.  The New York Times recently ran a fabulous article on making your own pizza, and now it's all I want to eat!   I'm going to get to work on that, and we're having a pizza party soon. 

This North Indian Butter Sauce is so flavorful and keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week.  It takes a bit of time to make, but it's definitely worth it.  Charlie says it tastes like something from a good restaurant, and I agree.  It also smells terrific as it simmers on the stove.  Try it on chicken, fish, or eggplant.  It's super great on tandoori chicken.

North Indian Butter Sauce 

ingredients:

1/4 lb butter (1 stick) plus 2 Tbsp

5 Tbsp canola oil

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp ginger and garlic paste

10 oz tomato puree

2 tsp ground cardamom powder 

4 Tbsp ground cashew nuts made to a fine paste

1 cup chicken broth

salt 

2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper plus 1/2 tsp

2 - 3 tsp salt (to taste)

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream or half and half 

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

pinch of tandoori masala

2 Tbsp fenugreek leaves

Heat butter and oil together in a wok, add a bay leaf, stir for a few seconds, and add the ginger and garlic paste.  Cook until most of the liquid evaporates.

Add the tomato puree and the cardamom.  Let it cook until the puree dries and the fat separates.  Add the cashew paste and stir for a few seconds.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Salt to taste.  Cover and cook for 10 to 15 uminutes or until the masala turns a bright red color.  Add milk and cream, continuing to stir, then add the garam masala and a pinch of tandoori masala.

In a separate pan make a tempering by heating 2 Tbsp butter then adding the fenugreek leaves and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.  Cook for 30 seconds then add to the sauce.  Pour the sauce over chicken, fish, or eggplant, and serve warm with naan.