Greener Pastures

One of my favorite go-to dishes when the weather turns sunny and warm is a light and fresh pizza. There's little effort involved since I don't bother with thinking about making the crust from scratch and instead buy a ready to bake whole wheat organic crust from my local market. Instead of coating it in tomato sauce and cheese I kick the sauce to the curb and cover mine in summer veggies and a variety of tasty cheeses. It's a great way to showcase what's in season without cooking the tar out of it and still maintaining delicious crunch. Not to mention you can easily fool picky eaters like kids into getting their daily allowance of green veggies and dairy. It's also a great dish to make on a busy day after work. I had all of my ingredients chopped and ready to go by the time the oven was all warmed up. And if you've got a little more free time, your little ones can even get in on the fun by helping arrange ingredients on top of your base (mine were both cheese).

My first pizza started with a delicious ready to bake herb crust, slathered with a few drops of olive oil and sea salt. Then I spread a thick layer of tangy goat cheese over it and topped the whole thing with with thinly sliced spinach, before dotting the pizza with salty, spicy salami. I made sure to reserve some uncooked spinach so I'd get the delicious flavor of cooked spinach, along with the crunch and nutrients of the raw greens. After it was baked and topped with the raw spinach, I coated the whole thing with a thin splosh of olive oil and another sprinkle of sea salt. My second pie (these were fairly small, 10 inch pies) still had a cheese base, this time the milder, softer, ricotta, because I'd be pairing it with olives and olive paste. I mixed a quarter sized dollop of olive paste with the ricotta to use as a base (also over olive oil and sea salt), then studded the pizza with roughly chopped kalamata olives and thinly sliced spinach, also reserving a few raw strands for garnish and crunch after baking. I topped this one with olive oil and sea salt when it was done as well and called it a day. 

There's no real recipe here today since this is such a free form idea. The toppings and combinations can be changed to suit your own preferences or what's in season in your community. You don't even have to use cheese as a base at all, you could simply make it a veggies only pizza and use tomatoes, sauce or simply olive oil and salt. Pile it up like a BLT, or use it as a vehicle to clean out your crisper, either way it'll be simple and delicious. You could even just top it with leftover hummus, some olives, a dusting of paprika and a sprinkle of olive oil and parsley or mint. The possibilities are endless, as is the base. I've done these with large focaccia for pizza bianca and even pita bread or naan for a more middle eastern flat-bread flair. Try one this spring and let me know what you come up with!

-Laura

How Far We've Come

I don't know about anyone else out there, but to this day, whenever I'm handed a red plastic cup, I'm reminded of going out for pizza. Having grown up nowhere near the New York area, pizza for me always meant Pizza Hut. Back then it wasn't the flashy, delivery driven franchise we see today, but rather a family establishment encouraging you to come on in and stay a while. Chandeliers with red velvet lampshades and yellow fringe hung over every table, and the distant sounds of a pinball machine could be heard over the joyous cries of children spying their pizza as it made it's way to the table. The only thing better than the bottomless fountain soda refills was the long cheese tightrope that formed between your mouth and the tip of your slice after that first glorious bite.

Eventually pizza lost it's leisurely connotation and became a food of convenience or a late-night hangover cure all. The pizza parlors that once made room for the whole family gave way to popular demand and began to diversify, serving a variety of mediocre dishes, and discouraging eating in. Fortunately, the last five years have seen a renaissance in pizza perception. While it still holds it's place as the ultimate post-drink snack, pizza has also become the object of a many chefs affection. It's become not only an excellent vehicle for new and exciting ingredients, but a respectable dish in and of itself. Many foodies are picky about crust, sauce and cheese, not to mention toppings in general, silently begging the pizza makers of the world to raise the bar once again.

I took my own leap forward last night by experimenting with pizza making for the first time. I'm generally terrified of dough, so instead of making my own dough I purchased some pizza bianca bread at Whole Foods that made an excellent pizza crust. The whole endeavor actually started with a beautiful and appropriately named bianca cheese that I'd purchased at the greenmarket on Saturday. It was soft and spreadable like cream cheese, but had a bit of sweetness like ricotta, and a tartness just milder than that of a goat cheese.

Once hearing that it was spreadable and delicious when heated, I immediately knew that I wanted to use it as a base for a pizza bianca, and got to thinking about other toppings. Prosciutto came to mind immediately, as did olives. One of my favorite Turkish brunch spots covers their ham flatbreads in a micro green salad, so I decided to top mine with a lightly dressed baby arugula salad. The dish took no longer than 7-10 minutes to assemble, and a mere 5 minutes in a 450 F degree oven to cook through. This would be a really easy and impressive dish to entertain with, not to mention that it has the potential to feed an army on the cheap. Mine got rave reviews (not just from me) and it is most definitely something I'll make again and again.

Pizza Bianca with Prosciutto and Olives

1 large pizza bianca flatbread (available at Whole Foods)
1 6-inch wheel bianca cheese or other soft farmer's cheese
4 slices prosciutto (about 1/8 of a lb if you're buying at the deli counter)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, torn in half
3 cups baby arugula
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt
pepper

1. Preheat over to 450 F degrees.

2. Drizzle a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil over the bread and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Spread a thin layer of cheese over the pizza bread. Tear each slice of prosciutto in half and drape evenly over the pizza. Dot the bread with olives and season the top of the pizza with salt and pepper. Drizzle the pizza with extra virgin olive oil and bake in the oven on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes, or until edges of bread start to brown.

4. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine arugula with a drizzle of both extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with salt and spread over the top of the cooked pizza. Cut pizza into 8 squares and serve. Enjoy!

-Laura