Thursday, May 19, 2011

Pizza Time!

Pizza time is somewhat like t-shirt time, but less testosterone fueled and more delicious!  If you haven’t gathered anything from this blog, the number one takeaway is that I value convenience.  I’m sure you do too.  Quick, easy and delicious- it’s possible to have all three!  I’ve spoken previously about the convenience of store-bought pizza dough here.  In the tri-state area, you can pick it up almost at any supermarket or Italian specialty grocer.  99 cents to $1.50 will get you a pound of raw pizza dough so that you don’t have to worry about yeast or resting time.  I buy a few at a time and freeze them, they defrost perfectly, just put them in the fridge the morning before you want to use them.  Also, I’ve found that the defrosted dough is easier to manipulate and doesn’t spring back as much, this is probably because the gluten has had more than ample time to rest, so it all works out to my favor.  I like to use a bit of parchment paper when making pizza (or roasting vegetables), it virtually eliminates cleanup time and prevents the pizza from sticking to the pan. You can also use cooking spray to prevent the pizza from sticking if you don’t have parchment paper in the house. 

With pizza I really love to experiment & try out different combinations beyond pepperoni, cheese and sauce.  I’ve made a delicious Thai chicken peanut sauce pizza that was truly kickass (I’ll share that recipe soon) and lots of variations of spring pizzas with different cheese combinations.  I don’t own a pizza stone or a pizza oven even though most people swear by them.  My father has a pizza oven and I'm convinced the thing just complicates matters as it seems to take HIM about an hour and a half to make a pizza.  I just stretch and roll out my dough (with a rolling pin for a nice thin crust) onto a cookie sheet, cover with toppings and bake at a high heat.  The below recipe is a fantastic potato, pepperoni & broccoli rabe with manchego cheese variation.  It requires a pre-cook with the potatoes but it’s still fast and easy.  The manchego cheese lends a lovely nutty flavor that compliments the potatoes perfectly.  The flavor result is similar to truffle, I swear!   A few words about this recipe- be sure to season each of your layers.  Be liberal with your seasoning here.  Any chef will tell you how important seasoning each element/layer of your dish for the best possible result.

Pepperoni, Potato, Manchego, Broccoli Rabe Pizza
Serves 4 Normal Folk or Two Who LOVE to Eat

2 Yukon Gold Potatoes- thinly sliced (get that mandolin out!)
1 Purple Onion- also thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
½ Bunch of Broccoli Rabe, stems trimmed and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
3 Ounces of Pepperoni (or however much you like)
6 Ounces of shredded Manchego Cheese

Preheat your oven to 500 °, with your rack in the middle (important, so that that your crust does not burn).  Roll your dough into your desired shape. You might prefer a traditional 14 inch round or you may like to just free-form your pizza as I do, creating a lovely long, rectangular shape that fits on my baking sheet. In a large bowl toss potatoes and onions with two tablespoons of olive oil , salt and pepper (be liberal!).  Arrange your potatoes neatly onto your dough and top with onions, leaving room for a bit of a pizza border ¾ of an inch. Brush your borders with a bit of olive oil and bake for five minutes.


In your same bowl, toss your broccoli rabe with another two tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Remove pizza from the oven and top with broccoli rabe and pepperoni.  Return to the oven and allow to bake for an additional 5 minutes, rotating halfway. 


After 5 minutes remove pizza from oven and cover with your shredded manchego cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown 3-4 minutes.  Enjoy!!


*Recipe adapted from Everyday Food 

4 comments:

  1. So are you the reason I'll go to the 'Beef' and they'll be out of pizza dough so often? haha
    Definitely curious about the chicken peanut sauce recipe you've got under your sleeve.

    I myself like using the 'Don Quixote' chorizo & some pepper jack cheese, along with the sodium free cans of tomato sauce. Sometimes I'll actually start frying some eggs while the pizza is baking and then drop them on top for a couple of minutes before it's done.
    Egg & chorizo pizza with pepper jack cheese? I like!

    Also, something I read and started following is that if you put the cheese above the layer of tomato sauce, it creates a "slippery slide" and causes the cheese to fall all over the place.
    So they recommend cheese on bottom and sauce on top of toppings so as to prevent the toppings from dehydrating too much.

    Perhaps the pizza may not look nearly as pretty, but it may be worth a try?

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  2. Hey Martin! I do sometimes get it at the Beef, lol! I also buy it at Pastosa if I'm over by Forest Avenue, the quality of their dough is a little better and still cheap $1.50. The cheapness justifies my more expensive topping choice.

    I love chorizo. I'm fine putting it on ANYTHING really. I like the Goya kind too which is cheap at the Beef. They have a great ethnic food section there. I've tried egg on my pizza with spinach once, it's GOOD!

    Thanks for the advice regarding the cheese- that's a good tip! It makes sense! How did the Meaty Mac go over?

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  3. Going back to a previous note, I believe they used to carry frozen Goya mamey pulp in the frozen food section, but I think my dad says he hasn't seen any in quite a while.

    I always find myself wanting to experiment with foreign ingredients, but I can never make up my mind on what to get and how to use them. A little overwhelming.

    As for the Meaty Mac... I kinda killed it on my first try.
    It was still edible, but I made the mistake of overcooking the pasta as I didn't take into account the extra time the pasta would keep cooking itself, so eventually it started breaking apart.

    Similarly, I also seasoned the beef as I always do, but in this case I failed to take into account the extra seasoning it would need in order to disperse and share the flavor with the pasta.
    But not to worry! I'm sure my second try will produce significantly improved results.

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  4. Interesting about the Mamey pulp. I'll have to look for that next time I go food shopping, though I admit I would be at a loss on what to do with it besides smoothies, lol!

    With international food, I like to try out one or two dishes at first and get a feel for the nuances of the cuisine- the spices, ingredients and cooking techniques. I go through phases too. One day its Asian food, the next Indian...

    So sorry about the Meaty Mac. I rely on my oven timer big time for things like cooking pasta. Do you have a timer? If not, its a cheap investment that can definitely save MANY meals! TJ Maxx sells them.

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