As a person who looooooves pizza there are two glorious things I have learned in the recent past that I shall share with you:
- Pizza does not have to have meat on it to be absolutely delicious
- You do not have to always use traditional tomato pizza sauce
This is an awesome meatless thing to make because well who doesn't love pizza and plus there is usually leftovers! Ofcourse if you are lactose intolerant or vegan you can get cheese replacements that are usually pretty good and melt well. Sorry this isn't gluten free but if anyone finds some good GF dough recipes that they've tried I'd love to hear about them. Ok first you need to start with the dough (which is incredibly easy to make as I have recently found out)...
PIZZA DOUGH:
* 1 cup warm water
* 1 tbsp quick rise yeast (or 1 packet)
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp pepper
* 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
* 2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl add water and sugar. mixing until dissolved, sprinkle yeast on top and leave for 10 minutes to proof.
Add garlic, pepper and lastly salt. Mix slightly
Gradually add 2½ cups of the flour and mix (with just a wooden spoon until you can start kneeding it) and until the dough has a smooth, even texture and is no longer sticky. (Add more flour as needed but I have never gotten past 2 1/2 cups.)
Lightly brush top of dough with olive oil, cover and place in a warm location for about 30 minutes to rise. (dough should double in size). I put it in my oven with the light on and a tea towel over the bowl.
Add garlic, pepper and lastly salt. Mix slightly
Gradually add 2½ cups of the flour and mix (with just a wooden spoon until you can start kneeding it) and until the dough has a smooth, even texture and is no longer sticky. (Add more flour as needed but I have never gotten past 2 1/2 cups.)
Lightly brush top of dough with olive oil, cover and place in a warm location for about 30 minutes to rise. (dough should double in size). I put it in my oven with the light on and a tea towel over the bowl.
For me this recipe yields 1 - 12" pizza and one 6-8" pizza. I like a bit of a thinner crust. When my dough is ready I usually take off a 1/3 of it and then start rolling it out. Lightly dust a clean surface with flour. I don't even have a rolling pin. I use a clean wine bottle dusted with flour.. works perfectly. Transfer the dough to a pizza pan and trim the edges with a sharp knife or to a pizza stone if you have one. Voila!
Now onto our toppings.....
Once you become adventurous with pizza toppings you start to realize how many options you really have.. here are a few I've made in the past week or so...
Mushroom, Garlic and Caramelized Onion
* Few Kelly sized handfuls of Shitake mushrooms (you can use a different mushroom but don't be put off by the high price/pound (mushrooms are very light!) - You can also use Portobello if you can't find Shitake
* 1 red onion
* 1/2 tsp sugar
* Salt and Pepper
* 2-4 cloves of Garlic (or garlic butter if you desire)
* Few Tbsp Olive oil
* Cheese (recommended Fontina, but you could use Mozza or Monteray) and freshly grated parmesan
* Cheese (recommended Fontina, but you could use Mozza or Monteray) and freshly grated parmesan
Caramelized Onions:
Preheat pan with olive oil over med heat. Thinly slice onions and add to pan, sprinkle with sea salt and sugar. Reduce heat to Med/low and stir occasionally for about 30 min or until onions are a translucent, golden brown. They will be so sweet and delicious.
You can pan fry the mushrooms for a few minutes in butter to soften them up.
Lay out pizza dough and cover with enough olive oil to spread sparingly and evenly over the entire pizza. Add diced garlic and with your hand run all over pizza. Add a small handful of cheese and then other toppings. After this I normal give a dose of freshly cracked pepper and then apply the remaining desired cheese. Voila and yum!!!!
Apple Cheddar Pizza
You'll have to trust me on this one.... i made it yesterday but had some bacon on it but I know it would be delicious with out it as well. Jeff said it was absolutely delicious.
*1 cup frozen corn thawed
*1 granny smith or gala apple (or whatever you have onhand!)
*1/2 small red onion
*Cheddar cheese, grated
*Parmesan, freshly grated
*2 Tbsp olive oil
*1 Tbsp butter
*1/2 tsp dried or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage (optional)
Thinly slice apple and red onion. Preheat pan on med heat and melt butter. Toss in onions and apple until soft. Approx 5 min. Remove from heat. Apply olive oil sparingly and evenly over pizza dough. Apply small handful of cheddar. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly grated pepper and some dried or fresh sage if you have any.
Arrange apple, onions and corn on dough. Cover with rest of desired cheddar and some parmesan. Bake at 400C until golden and bubbly!
Hopefully this gives you a bit of inspiration to think outside the box! Before I left I even made a nacho pizza! I used Salsa as the sauce and topped it with chopped red onion, red and green pepper, olives, avocado and marble cheese and served it with sour cream! Anything is good on crispy dough with cheese and yummy toppings!
