Delicious Pizza

This is a recipe from Food and Drink 2014, except that it is supposed to be grilled and in 4 pizzas and I baked it on a stone in my oven as one large pizza.  The Sauce is what I really enjoyed about this pizza, and it was so easy to make.

3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely shopped
 Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1 can (798 ml) San Marzano Tomatoes (or the best quality you can find)
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
375 g Hot Italian sausages
1 pkg (680g) Pizza Dough
1 cup pitted black olives
125 g drained fior di latte, torn into small pieces (or the best quality mozzarella you can find, grated)
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil leaves

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat.  Add onion and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring often, until onion is softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and red chili flakes and cook, stirring until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds.
2. Add tomatoes and sugar.  Bring to a boil, breaking up tomatoes with the back of a spoon.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and reduced, abut 50 minutes.  Stir more frequently and reduce heat, if necessary, toward end of cooking time so sauce doesn't scorch.  Taste and add more slat and pepper if necessary.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, heat a small nonstick skillet over medium.  Remove casings from sausages and crumble meat into skillet.  Cook, stirring often, until sausage meat is completely cooked and no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. 30 minutes before cooking remove dough from fridge.
5. Heat oven to 400F.  
6. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to size of pizza stone and place on stone.
7. Spread tomato sauce over crusts.  Sprinkle with cooked sausage, black olives and cheese.
8. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until crust is cooked through.

Stromboli with Smoked Ham and Spinach

Even my picky child liked this one!  From Food and Drink Magazine 2014.  Stromboli is an Ital-American creation of rolled pizza dough around your choice of fillings.  So versatile!  Try chicken and broccoli or steak and bbq sauce.

2 tbsp flour
500g store bought ball of uncooked pizza dough
3/4 cup pasta sauce, plus extra for dipping if desired (thicker style is better)
4 to 5 slices smoked ham, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup hot banana pepper rings
1 cup Asiago cheese, grated
Olive oil for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Sprinkle work surface with flour to prevent sticking, use extra if needed.  Roll pizza dough out to an 11 x 14 inch rectangle with longest edge facing you.
3. Spread entire dough with tomato sauce leaving a 1 inch border around the edge.
4. Cover sauce with ham, then spinach and sprinkle with remaining ingredients
5. Roll dough into a log, then pinch edges of dough to seal.  Place roll on a greased baking sheet with seam down.  Brush entire roll with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes in middle of the oven, or until golden and cooked through.
6. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing, to allow cheese to firm up.  To speed up the process you can cut the stromboli in half to release the steam.
7. Slice and serve with extra warmed sauce for dipping.

Lamb and Halloumi Pizza

This is a nice change from the regular pizza.  If you can't find Halloumi cheese Feta is a good substitute.  I used fresh lemon thyme and orange mint from my garden to give a slight citrus flavour to the recipe but any thyme and mint will work.  This is the first time I used ground sumac and was warned by the cashier at the bulk food store that I might not like it.  I must say that I did enjoy it.  I have been using more Middle Eastern spices lately though so perhaps I am a bit more adventurous with my spices than most.  I based this recipe from a Food and Drink original but have made a few changes to suit my palate.

1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
1 tbsp toasted almonds, chopped finely
1 tsp ground sumac
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
450 g lean ground lamb
2 Naan Bread
1 cup crumbled halloumi
1/4 cup fresh torn mint

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. In a bowl, combine thyme, almonds and sumac until well blended.  Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium high heat.  Brown lamb breaking up with the back of a spoon, until no longer pink.  Stir in spices.
4. Place Naan Bread on a rimmed baking sheet.  Spread lamb mixture evenly over lavash.  Sprinkle with halloumi.  Bake in the centre of the preheated oven until Naan Bread starts to brown and halloumi melts slightly, about 15 minutes.
5. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and top with fresh mint leaves.

Butter Chicken Pizza

A flavourful and different variety of pizza.  This was simple to make and a great dinner when paired with a fresh salad. The best part of all was my husband made this for me.   From Food and Drink 2012.

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp medium curry paste
1/2 tsp mild paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp salt
500 g cubed chicken

SAUCE
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp mild paprika
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
3 tbsp whipping cream
2 tbsp cold butter, cubed
4 pieces naan bread
1 cup paneer or pressed cottage cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a bowl, stir together yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam masala, lime juice, curry paste, paprika, cumin, coriander and salt until well blended.  Stir in chicken until completely coated.  Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
2. Preheat oven to 425F.  Arrange chicken on a greased, foil lined baking sheet.  Roast in oven until cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Put into bowl.  Do not turn off oven.
3. In a saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat.  Cook onion until golden, about 8 minutes.  Stir in garam masala, paprika and curry paste.  Add tomatoes, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Stir in cream and butter until well combined.  Stir in chicken and remove from heat.
4. Arrange naan on a large baking sheet.  Divide chicken mixture over each.  Sprinkle with paneer and put back into the oven until naan starts to crisp and sauce is hot, about 12 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve immediately.

Smoked Salmon Pizza with Baby Kale Salad

I am really loving baby Kale, a healthy and tasty salad choice.  This is definitely an adult pizza…make a pepperoni one up for the kids.  I used pizza dough but if you are short on time just buy a prepared pizza crust or use some Naan bread.  Based on a recipe from Canadian Living Magazine 2013.

350 g pizza dough
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp milk
150 g sliced smoked salmon
1/4 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 tsp capers, drained, rinsed and chopped
2 tsp chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp peppercorns, crushed

BABY KALE SALAD
1 tsp olive
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch each salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups lightly packed baby kale

1. On lightly floured surface, roll out or press dough into 11 inch circle.  Transfer to greased pizza pan; prick all over with fork.  Spread oil over dough; sprinkle with pepper.  Bake on bottom rack of 500F oven until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes.  Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, 2 tsp lemon juice and the milk; spread over pizza.  Top with salmon, onion, Feta, capers, chives, peppercorns and remaining lemon juice.
3. In bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper; add kale and toss.  Sprinkle on pizza and return to oven for 5 min or until kale is wilted.

Sausage and Caramelized Onion Pizza

This recipe call for dates…yuk!  I skipped the dates and all of the family liked it ….. even the kids.  From Food and Drink Summer 2011

1 pkg store bought pizza dough (about 700g) at room temperature
2 tbsp olive oil
400 g spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
2 cups red onion very finely sliced
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup steak sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup fontina cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle to fit a 12 x 17 inch lightly greased baking sheet.  Spread dough evenly on a baking sheet.
3. In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat, add sausage and break into bite size pieces with a fork or wooden spoon.  Saute sausage until browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes.
4. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.  Drain all but 1 tbsp oil from pan, add onions and water.  Cover and cook onions over medium low heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Remove cover and cook on medium high until all liquid has reduced and onions begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
5. Cover dough evenly with steak sauce, top with sausage, onions and sprinkle with cheeses.
6. Bake in lower third of oven until the dough is golden on the bottom and the cheese is golden on top, about 22 minutes.
7. Let cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack, then slice into 24 small snack size slices.

Pizza Margherita with Arugula

I am really starting to enjoy Arugula, it has a slightly bitter, peppery taste that accents most meals very well.  I can sometimes have a hard time finding the Halloumi cheese where I live and have never seen Guernsey Girl cheese.  But the nice thing about this is you can experiment with something new that is in your area!  I really liked the crust for this - simple and quick!.  I use a pizza stone I got from Pampered chef years ago - it is invaluable and far superior to an inexpensive one I received.  I would say it is definitely worth investing in a good quality stone for this recipe.  From Food and Drink 2011

4 tsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, crushed with side of knife
1 can tomatoes, preferable San Marzano type
1 3/4 to 2 cups all purpose flour
1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp instant or bread machine dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups very warm water
6 to 8 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
6 tbsp freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded Halloumi or Guernsey Girl cheese
2 cups lightly packed baby arugula
Pinches of coarse salt

1. Combine oil and largely intact garlic in a small dish; set aside.  Place tomatoes in sieve over large bowl to catch juices.  Split open tomatoes to assist in draining; drain 15 to 30 minutes.  Then chop; also set aside.  (Juices can be frozen for use in a different recipe.)
2. To make dough, stir 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour with cake flour, yeast and salt in a mixer fitted with a dough hook; make a well in the centre.  Add water. (water should be very warm to the touch like bath water.) Mix on medium speed until all flour is incorporated into dough; add remaining flour as needed to have soft, slightly sticky dough.  Alternatively mix by hand.  Turn out on well floured surface.  Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Arrange 1 oven rack on the lowest level (or 1 above the lowest level if oven element is exposed).  Preheat to 450 F.  Meanwhile use nonstick oil spray to coat three pizza or baking pans large enough to fit pizza dimensions in step 4.
4. Divide dough into thirds.  Gently shape dough into a round or rectangle about half the size needed; place on pans.  Pat out each third into 11 inch rounds or 9x12 inch rectangles.  Form a small rim around edges.  (this pizza dough does not stretch well).
5. Dividing all toppings among 3 pizzas, scatter tomatoes over dough, avoiding rim.  Scatter basil, Parmesan and mozzarella over tomatoes.  Lightly scatter with Halloumi, including a bit on the rim.  Remove and discard garlic from oil.  Drizzle each pizza with about 1 tsp of garlicky oil.  
6. Immediately place pizza on lowest rack, baking in batches as needed.  Bake 10 minutes; use a spatula to turn up 1 corner of the dough to check for browning.  Continue baking for another few minutes as needed.  When nicely browned, slide pizza off pan and onto a cooling rack.  Scatter each with pinches of salt and about a third of the arugula.  Cut into wedges with scissors; serve immediately.

Presto Pizza!

Homemade Pizza, doesn't get much better than this!

Crust

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

Topping

2/3 cup pizza sauce

1 1/2 cups diced vegetables

1/2 cup diced lean ham

1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

1. Place a large baking sheet upside down on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 425F. Butter 1 or 2 more large baking sheets.
2. Crust:  In a large bowl, combine all purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder, oregano and salt.  Pour in milk and butter; stir with a fork until soft dough forms.  Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times just until smooth.  Divide into 6 pieces.  Roll or pat 3 pieces into 6 inch circles and place on prepared baking sheet.  
3. Topping:  Spread pizza sauce on each crust, leaving 1/2 inch border.  Sprinkle with ham and vegetables as desired.  Sprinkle with half of the cheese. 
4. Place pizzas on baking sheet on top of hot baking sheet in oven.  Bake for 12 to 15 min or until crust is golden, toppings are hot and cheese is bubbling.  meanwhile repeat with remaining 3 pizzas.