BBQ Chicken Pizza

I made this at home the other day from leftovers (roast chicken and bbq sauce), and my friend Mason requested for me to put it on the blog.

I made the pizza dough similarly to the one here, except that I did not use a machine to mix/knead it. This necessitated a stiffer (less wet) dough, in order for it to be easier to work with. So I started with 7.5 oz tepid (just warm) water and 0.1 oz instant yeast in a large bowl. Then I added 8.8 oz flour (I used bread flour, but you could use All-Purpose) and 0.2 oz salt, and mixed it with a large spoon. This resulted in a wet dough.

Next, I floured my counter and tipped the dough out onto it. I shook out more flour over the top of the dough, and started pushing it around, adding more flour when my hands stuck to it too much. Then I started kneading - using the heel of my hand to push the dough away from me, then pulling it back with my fingers. Keep adding flour if it is too sticky to handle. You can stop adding flour when it is just a little tacky. Continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. At this point, you can put it back in your large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place for about 2 hours until tripled in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare your toppings. I used a leftover roast chicken breast (i.e already cooked through), which was cut into 1 inch chunks and then heated gently in my homemade bbq sauce (recipe here, or you can use store-bought). Save some sauce for the pizza base also. Thinly slice half of a small red onion, and a good amount of meltable cheese (mozzarella is traditional - you will need enough to cover the base of the pizza). If you wish to use herbs, chop or tear them and set aside. As you can see from the picture, I used cilantro (coriander leaf), but I didn't think it worked so well. Next time, I'll try basil.

Towards the end of the two hours, preheat your oven to 500 F, with a pizza stone or upturned baking sheet on a lower shelf. Take another upturned baking sheet (or pizza peel if you have one) and put a sheet of parchment paper on top.

Once tripled in size, dump your dough out onto a floured counter, and shape it into a rough round (or whatever shape you want your pizza to be). Transfer it to your sheet/peel, and then slide it off onto the preheated stone/sheet in the oven.

Bake the base for about 8 minutes, until 'set' enough to top, but not too brown. Remove it from the oven (leave the stone/sheet in there) and top with your chicken, sauce, red onion and cheese. Return to the stone/sheet and continue to bake until everything is hot and the cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with herbs. Allow to cool a little. Enjoy!

Note 1 - Metric Info: 7.5 oz = 210g (7.5 oz water = 220ml); 0.1 oz = 3g; 8.8 oz = 250g; 0.2 oz = 6g; 500 F = 260 C.

Note 2 - Make sure you have plenty of flour to make the base. It will take much more than the initial 8.8 oz.

Pizza

Last piece!

I love home-made pizza. I enjoy the freedom of putting whatever I want on it, and knowing where all the ingredients came from. We made this Veggie Supreme pizza with almost all organic ingredients (the exceptions being the olives, the olive oil used to cook the sauce and onions, and the olive oil used on the crust).

You can of course use the recipe for the pizza base and top it with whatever you like.

I started by making the dough and leaving it to rise, and then I prepared all of the topping ingredients. Once the dough was ready to roll, all I the had to do was top and bake.

The following dough recipe is adapted from 'Local Breads' by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman, and is the best I have found so far.

Pizza Dough (1 large pizza - feeds 2 hungry adults)

Combine in the bowl of a food mixer - 7.5 oz water (room temperature), 8.8 oz flour, 0.1 oz active dry yeast and 0.2 oz salt. Knead in your mixer on medium-high speed for 12 minutes, then on full speed for 3 min. more. Scrape into a lightly oiled, straight-sided container and mark where it will reach once it has tripled in size. Leave it in a warm place and allow it to do just that - it should take at least 2 hours. While you are waiting, you can prepare the toppings - see below). Once it has tripled in size, dump it out onto a floured counter and push it with your fingers into a rough rectangle (or circle if you prefer). Brush the top with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

The goal, after adding your toppings, is to get the pizza into a hot oven on a preheated surface so that the base crisps up quickly. The problem is that the dough is sticky. There are two options as far as I see it.

Option 1 - Preheat the oven to 500 F with a pizza stone or upturned baking tray on the middle shelf. Allow time for the stone to heat up. Take a pizza peel or another upturned baking tray and place a piece of parchment paper on top. Flour the paper and then put the dough on top. Once topped, it can now be slid off the peel onto the stone.

Option 2 - Put the dough onto a stovetop-safe baking tray or into a large oven-safe pan (this would be easier with a round pizza). Add toppings and place pan directly on the stove on high heat. Once you hear some good sizzling, transfer it to the oven (preheated to 500 F).

Whichever option you choose, bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove. Allow to cool slightly. Cut and serve.


Veggie Supreme Toppings

We used the following toppings for our pizza: caramelized onions, home-made tomato sauce, sliced button mushrooms, sliced green peppers, sliced black olives, shredded cheese and torn basil leaves (this last one added after baking). Everything except for the first two was added raw.

Caramelized onions

Slice 1 onion. Add plenty of olive oil (or a good chunk of butter) to a small skillet and heat to medium. Tip in the onion and a little salt. Stir occasionally, and add more oil if it is looking dry. Turn the heat down if the onions are starting to brown (they should gradually turn light brown, but no more). Once soft and sweet, switch off the heat and set aside ready to top the pizza.

Tomato Sauce

For this sauce, you can use fresh or canned tomatoes.
For fresh: blanch 1 lb tomatoes - prepare some boiling water in a pan, and some ice water in a bowl. Score a very light 'x' in the bottom of each tomato with a small knife. Drop the tomatoes in the boiling water. Leave in the water for 15 seconds only. Remove and drop in the ice water. Remove from the ice water and peel off the skins (start at the 'x' - it should be easy now). Chop roughly.
For canned - substitute one 14 oz can plum tomatoes (chopped or whole, which can me broken with a spoon).
Sweat 1 onion, diced and 1 clove garlic, minced in olive oil until soft. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 tsp dried oregano and cook gently until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool until ready to top the pizza.


Note 1 - I used option 2, which worked very nicely, but I have used option 1 for baking bread, and I know it works too.

Note 2 - This pizza is vegetarian. It can be made vegan by omitting the cheese.

Note 3 - Metric Info: 7.5 oz = 210g; 8.8 oz = 250g; 0.1 oz = 2.8g; 0.2 oz = 5.7g; 500 F = 260 C; 1 lb = 450g; 14 oz = 400g .

Liver and Onions

OK, I know this is not going to be everyone's favorite dish, but I like it, so I figured I'd write about it.

I used duck livers (3 of them) because that's what I had, but you can use calf, chicken or even rabbit (my favorite) livers if you prefer. Just scale according to size - you will obviously need fewer livers if they are bigger. Also bear in mind that bigger livers will take longer to cook...

Start by heating 2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat in a medium frying pan. Once it is sizzling, add 2 slices of good bread (I used ciabatta - click here for a recipe) and fry on both sides. Remove the bread. Season your livers with a little salt and pepper and add them to the pan. Saute them on the first side until nicely browned, then flip over and repeat on the second side. Do not overcook - you want them to be pink in the middle or they will be very dry. Keep an eye on them and remove them from the pan before they become firm.

Add 1/4 onion, sliced and a little more butter to the pan. Saute until they color, stirring up the brown bits as you go. Add a splash of brandy and let it simmer away. Put the bread on a plate, top with the livers and then finish with the onions. Serve with good mustard on the side. Enjoy!

This recipe makes one large plate. You can scale it up for more. Just use a large pan.

Green Curry Mussels

So, I still had some mussels left over from the Japanese Noodle Soup I made last night. After checking the cupboards, I realized I had enough ingredients to make this recipe, based on an appetizer we had at Leunig's Bistro in Burlington, VT a while back.

Start by inspecting your mussels. I used just short of 2 lb. Rinse them, debeard (pull the hair that is hanging out, if there is one) and discard any which are broken or will not close when tapped (these ones are probably dead and should not be eaten). Rope-cultured mussels are best as they tend not to have any grit in them.

Mince 1 clove of garlic, a small 'finger' of ginger (peeled), and dice 1/4 onion. Sweat in oil until softened. Stir in just over 1 tbsp Thai green curry paste (usually found in jars in the Asian section of the supermarket) and cook for about 1 minute. Add about 1/4 cup white wine, stir to mix the paste in and turn up the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Add the mussels and cover the pan. Steam until all of the mussels have opened (you can remove them as they open if you wish). Discard any mussels that do not open (but give them a chance to do so), and remove them to a clean bowl and keep warm.

To the sauce in the pan, add 1/2 can (7 floz) coconut milk (shake the can before opening) and about 1/4 cup of cream or half and half. Allow to simmer and reduce for a few minutes until thick. Add a little lime juice, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste.

To serve, pour the sauce over the mussels in bowls. Garnish with shredded mint, basil and sliced scallions. This would be great with some jasmine rice, but I ate it with some bread.

Note 1 - If you don't have any white wine, you can substitute an equal volume of water.

Note 2 - Vary the herb garnish as desired based on what you have available. Cilantro would also be good.

Note 3 - Metric info: 2lb = 900g; 1/4 cup = 60 ml; 7 floz = 200 ml.