LUTONG PINOY: Pizza

Showing posts with label Pizza. Show all posts

Spelt Pizza – Read All About It

I could go into detail about all the great reasons you should maybe consider including some organic sprouted spelt flour in your pantry, but since I’m just about to head out for a little Easter break, it would be a lot easier for me if you could just Google it.

Very briefly, this “ancient grain” is related to modern wheat, but it’s actually an entirely different species. From what I hear, it's easier to digest, higher in protein and fiber, and to me at least, has a much better flavor and texture than other whole-wheat flours.

Besides the simple and effective dough recipe, I’m also showing off a cast-iron pan technique that does a heck of a job getting the same type of browned, crispy crust you enjoy at your favorite pizzeria. Just keep it on the flame until the bottom starts to brown, and then finish in a hot oven, and/or under a broiler until your toppings are done.

If you make it ahead, simply take it out of the fridge a few hours before you want pizza, and let it warm up on the counter. It actually gets an even better texture. I hope you give this delicious alternative a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 4 eight-inch pizzas:

1 package dry active yeast

2 teaspoons honey

1 cup warm water (105 degrees F)

about 3 cups organic sprouted spelt flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

toppings of your choice

Fried Peach & Pancetta Pizza – A Savory Twist on a Childhood Sweet

Growing up, I always loved when my family made pizza from scratch, but what I loved even more was what came after the meal. Any extra dough and scraps were rolled out, left to rise, fried, and sprinkled with sugar to create a simple, but delicious donut-like treat.

Here we’re doing a savory twist; using the technique to make a pizza featuring ricotta, pancetta and peaches. Obviously, you can use any and all classic pizza toppings, but this particular combo comes highly recommended.

Besides a fun change of pace, this method is great for making a bunch of crusts ahead of time, and then dressing/baking when needed. Imagine setting up a “make your own pizza” bar, with your guests customizing theirs any way they want. Add a couple cases of beer to the mix, and you’ll be hosting a pizza party of epic proportions. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

For One Small Fried Peach & Pancetta Pizza:

(all ingredient amounts are purely guesses)

3-4 ounces prepared pizza dough

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese, plus a pinch of salt if needed

fresh thyme leaves

fresh ground black pepper

2 ounces pancetta

5-6 slices fresh peach

freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

extra virgin olive oil, plus regular olive oil for frying

Cauliflower Pizza Crust – Don’t Let the Name Fool You

The major problem with this cauliflower pizza crust is that there’s already something called pizza. If you’d never heard about pizza before, and someone served this to you, I think you’d really enjoy it.

Unfortunately, we’ve all had pizza before, and so this will invariably be compared to the awesomeness of the real thing. You know, sort of like what happens to deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza (said the New Yorker).

Regardless, this was very tasty, pleasantly textured, and contains almost no carbs – in case you’re into one of those alternative lifestyles. For the cheese, I decided on goat after seeing this recipe on Detoxinista. All kinds of cheeses are used for this technique, usually mozzarella and something else, but I figured the tart chèvre would best simulate the fermented dough of a classic pizza.

Another important tip is to make sure you use parchment paper. Because of the moisture and cheese, this stuff can stick to foil, but nothing sticks to parchment, which is obviously a key here. You can find it next to the foil and plastic wraps in any large grocery store.

Texture aside, the flavor of this final product was very pizza-like, and I’ll be doing further experiments to be sure. By the way, if you have a version that’s clearly superior to this one, feel free to share. Otherwise, I hope you give this cauliflower crust pizza a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one 10-inch pizza crust:

1 head cauliflower (about 3 packed cups ground)

1/2 cup water

- Cook cauliflower with water for 5-6 minutes, let cool, and squeeze out ALL water with a towel. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of dry cauliflower pulp left.

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about a 1-1/2 inch square grated)

2 ounces fresh goat cheese

cayenne to taste

1 large egg

Focaccia di Recco – Treating Myself

When I treat myself to a personal “food wish,” it’s usually something I’ve eaten out and become obsessed over, and this episode is a classic case. There’s a Ligurian restaurant called Farina near us, and I’ve become a full-blown focaccia di Recco stalker.

After watching them make it in front of me so many times, I had to give it a try. It doesn’t look like the focaccia most of us are used to, but come to find out, “focaccia” simply means any flatbread cooked in a hearth, and varies region to region.

This particular example hails from Recco, and is nothing more than some Stracchino cheese trapped in between two, super-thin layers of dough. The dough is nothing more than flour, water, olive oil, and salt; but thanks to a very hot oven, and this probably ancient technique, some serious flatbread magic happens.

As I confess in the video, I was scared to use too much cheese, but I’ll use more next time. At Farina, you can see a thin layer of the molten Stracchino oozing out between the layers. My Crescenza cheesewas basically absorbed, but while you couldn’t see it, you could certainly taste it, and it was amazing.

The obvious question is, can you add other fillings to this? Yes, but don’t. It’s perfect…as long as you find the cheese. Please, find the cheese (no substitutions will be offered #toughlove).

By the way, I’m officially recommending the quarter sheet pan seen herein, which is what they use in the restaurant, but I think a round tart pan would work as well. In fact, from what I see online, the round pan seems to be the standard. I can’t wait to try this again, and sincerely hope you give it go as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 small or 1 large Focaccia di Recco (Tip for first timers: Make a double batch of dough so you have plenty to work with!)

*2 cups all-purpose flour (9.5 by weight)

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp water

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp fine salt

*use enough flour to form a soft, but not too sticky dough. Knead for about 5-6 minutes to from a smooth, elastic dough. Let rest 1 hour at room temp.

12 oz Crescenza or Stracchino cheese (6 oz for each focaccia)
extra virgin olive oil and sea salt, to taste for the top

Bake at 500 degrees F.for about 6-7 minutes, or until well-browned

National Pizza Month? Sure, Why Not!

That's right, apparently October is National Pizza Month, and to celebrate I'm sharing these links to some of our most popular pizza-related posts. Both pizza doughs, the no-knead, and Wolfgang Puck's classic California-style, get rave reviews, and are easy to master, even for a beginner.

Of course, man cannot live by crust alone, so you'll also need some sauce, a few creative topping ideas, and a brilliant technique to reheat those cold, leftover slices. You know the drill; simply click the links to watch/read the original recipe post. Enjoy!

	No-Knead Pizza Dough So easy and fun to make, unless you like kneading, then maybe not so much.
	Wolfgang's California Pizza Dough The original chef-to-the-stars shares this very user-friendly, all-purpose pizza dough recipe.
	Pizza Sauce Pizza sauce is almost as important as the dough, so don't even think about using something straight from the can.
	Asparagus, Ham, and Ricotta Pizza I generally don't like a lot vegetables on my pizza, since that's what salads are for, but asparagus with ham and ricotta is another story altogether.
	Sausage and Egg Pizza Eggs on pizza? Yes, yes, and yes. Yes.
	Potato Pesto Pizza Do you love pizza, but wish it had more carbs? Well, this potato-topped pesto pizza is just what the "doctor" ordered.
	How to Reheat Pizza This went viral for a reason. Simply put, this method produces a better slice of pizza than when it was first made.