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 .

Butternut Squash Soup

OK, so I've been making a lot of soups lately. And, guess what... next post will be another one. Guess I just like soups...

This one is a family favorite. Start by sweating half an onion, diced, in butter (1 tbsp or so) until soft. Add 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded (cut it in half and scoop them out) and cut into 1/2 inch cubes and 1.5 quarts of chicken stock (homemade is preferable). Bring to a simmer and leave for a while to allow the squash to cook through and soften. This will probably take at least 20 minutes, but there is no harm in going a little further after the squash is cooked - I probably simmered the soup for about an hour.

Once the squash is fully cooked (you should be able to mash the cubes with the back of a spoon), blend the soup. It would be safer to allow it to cool a little fist, particularly if using a stand blender. I use a stick blender, which you can put right in the soup pot (so long as it doesn't have a non-stick coating). Once blended, take a look at the consistency. Depending on the size of the squash and your preference, you might like to add some water to thin it out a little. Add some salt and pepper, and then some maple syrup (about 2 tbsp, but just add until it tastes good). Adjust the seasoning until it is as you like it.

At this point, you can serve the soup as is, or you can put it through a strainer to make it a little smoother (a finer strainer will remove more pulp and result in a smoother soup). Serve garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or walnuts, or a few fried sage leaves. Enjoy!

Note 1 - If your butternut squash is big, you may need more than 1.5 qts of stock to cover the pieces. Either increase the amount of stock, or add water until the squash is covered, then simmer.

Note 2 - The maple syrup is not essential. I like a little sweetness in this soup. You could substitute honey or a little brown sugar if you prefer.

Note 3 - This soup can be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock for chicken stock. For vegans, also switch the butter for oil.

Note 4 - Metric info: 1/2 inch = 13 mm; 1.5 qts = 1400 ml.