Potato Rosemary Pizza

Sometimes you just fancy a pizza with a twist.

The twist, in this case, is potatoes. On a pizza? Why not! They're rounded out with some onion and rosemary fresh from my garden. Oh, and paremsan cheese too.

I actually managed this pizza on a weeknight, if you can believe it. I put together the dough in the morning before work, and let it rest in the fridge all day. When I got home, all I had to do was slice the potatoes, and let the dough come to room temperature.

Let's begin, shall we?

Slice your taters really thin. This is best done on a mandoline, but if you're without one, as I am, then use your best knife skills to get them as paper thin as possible. Then, leave them to soak in some salt water for a while.

And if anyone from Farm Boy is reading this, please, PLEASE sell your Yukon Gold potatoes loose so I am not forced to by a 10lb bag of them! Thank you.

Next, spread them out on the dough, along with some onion and black pepper. The rosemary goes on top. (The dough's quite difficult to work on its own, but I found it easier to stretch out with the toppings on for some reason.)

And into a very, very hot oven it goes, until the potatoes get crispy and the crust gets crisp. Truthfully, I think the recipe is a bit too generous with the baking time, and I probably should have rescued this about five minutes earlier. Oh well, just had to chew around the burnt bits.

Aren't these slices just crying out for a nice, cold beer?

Potato Rosemary Pizza
(recipe found on Shutterbean, and originally adapted from My Bread, by Jim Lahey)

Makes One 13-by-18-inch pie

1 quart lukewarm water
4 teaspoons table salt
6 to 8 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 recipe No Knead Pizza Dough
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 500 F with a rack in the middle

In a medium bowl, combine the water and salt, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Use a knife or mandoline to slice the peeled potatoes very thin (1/16th inch thick), and put the slices directly into the salted water so they don’t oxidize and turn brown. Let soak in the brine for about an hour, until the slices are wilted and no longer crisp.

Drain the potatoes in a colander and use your hands to press out as much water as possible, then pat dry. In a medium bowl, toss together the potato slices, onion, pepper, and olive oil.

Spread the potato mixture evenly over the dough, going all the way to the edges of the pan; put a bit more of the topping around the edges of the pie, as the outside tends to cook more quickly. Sprinkle evenly with the rosemary.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the topping is starting to turn golden brown and the crust is pulling away from the sides of the pan. At the 20 minute mark, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the pizza and continue baking. Serve the pizza hot or at room temperature.

No Knead Pizza Dough
(recipe from My Bread, by Jim Lahey)

Makes: enough dough for two pies baked in 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheets

3 3/4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 cups water
extra virgin olive oil for pan

In a bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water, and using a spoon, your hand, or a baker's plastic bench scraper, mix together until blended -- this should take a couple of minutes.

Cover the dough and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours. (Or stick in the fridge and leave all day.)

Dump out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Use both pieces, or save one in the refrigerator (use a zip lock bag) for up to 1 day. Oil a 13x18 inch rimmed baking sheet liberally with good extra virgin olive oil. Then gently plop the dough on the pan and stretch and press it out to the edges. If it springs back wait five minutes and then proceed. The dough is very thin. If it tears, piece it back together.

Tomato basil pizza

I was in the mood for pizza on the weekend, and wanted to try cooking it on the barbecue. But when it started to rain -- and didn't stop -- on Sunday afternoon, I bit the bullet and turned on the oven to cook one inside.

I used the simple pizza dough recipe, and loaded the top with some small heirloom tomatoes I picked up at the market on the weekend. I'm not a fan of traditional pizza sauce, so I spread the base with some black olive tapenade first; just a thin layer evened out with the back of a spoon.

Then came the tomatoes, each one sliced in half, and some small boccacini balls, sliced in half too. I threw on a bit of leftover chicken as well.

Sprinkle with some fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and it's ready for the oven.
And here's how it turns out about 15 minutes later. I'm totally throwing modesty out the window and telling you that this pizza ROCKED! It smelled amazing and tasted just as good, especially adorned with a few fresh basil leaves. I may have to repeat this one next weekend -- barbecue or not.

Lemony zucchini goat cheese pizza

The zucchini and summer squash I bought at the market sat in my fridge for almost an entire week and were dangerously close to becoming shrivelled up versions of their former selves, so it was time to act. I decided to turn them into a pizza, inspired by a recipe here.

I started out making the pizza dough from scratch, and added in a half cup of whole wheat flour. This really was a simple recipe, as it only required a couple minutes of kneading and one rise.

Once the dough had doubled in size and had time to rest, I smeared on the goat cheese, mixed with lemon juice and topped with basil from my herb pot. On went handfuls of sliced zucchini. The different sizes prevented me from arranging them in artful concentric circles, but it still looked pretty good.

Ready for the oven.

I was a bit skeptical about how much the lemon flavour would shine through, but it really did. This is a nice, light summmertime pizza.

Really Simple Pizza Dough

Makes enough for one small, thin crust pizza.

1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump all clumps and floury bits onto a lightly floured surface and knead everything into a homogeneous ball.

Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl (a spritz of cooking spray perfectly does the trick) where you had mixed it — one-bowl recipe! — dump the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.

Dump it back on the floured counter (yup, I leave mine messy), and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.

Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like. Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered and impossible to resist.

Lemony Zucchini Goat Cheese Pizza

1 batch Simplest Pizza Dough
1 lemon
4 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature
Few leaves of fresh basil, cut into thin slivers
1/2 medium yellow zucchini, sliced as thinly as you can
1/2 medium green zucchini, sliced as the same as above (or combination of whatever you have)
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Roll your pizza dough into a thin 12-inch circle, or rectangle to fit your baking tray, and lay it on a tray.

In a small bowl, stir together the goat cheese with the juice of half your lemon. Season it with salt and freshly ground pepper, and spread it over your pizza dough. Scatter fresh basil slivers over the cheese.

Arrange your zucchini coins in concentric circles over the goat cheese spread, overlapping them slightly. Squeeze the juice of the second half of your lemon on top of you zucchini, then drizzle with olive oil and finish with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes (your baking time will vary, so please watch carefully), or until the edges of your pizza are golden brown and the zucchini looks roasted and a little curled up at the edges. Serve with a green or even simple tomato salad and a glass of crisp white wine.