cauliflower crust pizza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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garlic scapes and kale pizza

      This is the first time I use whole garlic scapes on pizza. Very tasty!  The garlic scapes and the kale make a great looking pizza!

Prepare your homemade dough in advance.

Prepare a stir fry of onions, garlic, green & red peppers, cherry tomatoes and other favorite veggies.

Use only the tender part of the scapes, so cut both ends. Blanch them in salted water and set aside.

Wash kale and dry leaves very well.

Tear kale by hand into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Roll out pizza dough on an oiled pizza pan, spread the stir fry, add garlic scapes, kale and cheese (on mine I sprinkled parmesan cheese and placed slices of provolone on top).

Dot the pizza with a little more olive oil and bake in a very hot 475* oven for 8 to 15 minutes.

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fast pizzas

 

 

 

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pizza napoletana

The Panoram Italia magazine for the month of June has  a great story on Naples and their famous pizza napoletana.  To replicate this pizza at home would be almost possible if we could get one of those wood burning ovens.

   

However, this week, we dropped by Micheline and Michel’s house and she had just finished making dough from scratch for some home made pizza.  No wood burning oven but the pizzas she cooked were amazing. You’d swear that they were cooked in one of those famous ovens.  Along with the pizza we had fresh garden salad with cucumbers from my garden, broad italian string beans also from my garden and the sweetest corn on the cob from the Jean Talon Market. For a mid week unexpected meal, it turned out to be quite special.

Panoram Italia 

Pizza Napoletana: The one and only

by Gabriel Riel-Salvatore

Some eat it with a fork and knife, some like it folded (al libretto), some like it fluffy, some like it thin, but one thing remains true for all: everyone loves pizza. With its flat, dough-based surface, typically topped with cheese and tomato sauce, pizza is an awesomely simple dish that managed to conquer most parts of the world a little over two centuries since its creation in the city of Naples.

Neapolitans will tell you without hesitation that the world’s best pizza is still found in Totò’s hometown. “The primary reason is the use of local ingredients, which have no equal anywhere else,” explains Eduardo Ammendola from Pizzeria Di Matteo, located on via Tribunale in Naples’ historic quarter since 1936.

“One of the secrets to a good pizza is working with good products. It might cost a bit more, but it makes a big difference at the end of the day. The fior di latte and tomatoes must always be as fresh as possible. You even have to taste them to make extra sure. Moreover, all of our pizzas, like our bufalina topped with fresh cherry tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala campana, for example, are made with products hailing from the Campania region,” says Ammendola.

To say Neapolitans take their pizza very seriously is an understatement. The great propagation of pizza around the world made with varying ingredients forced Neapolitan pizzaioli (pizza makers) to regroup in 1984 under the association known as Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN), to defend the authenticity of this typical Neapolitan tradition. Since 2004, the pizza napoletana even bears an official quality seal called Specialità tradizionale garantita (STG) (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) which carefully codifies how to make an authentic pizza napoletana. On top of using strictly local ingredients, everything must be scrupulously done by hand, except for the mixing of the dough.

Although it may seem simple at first, it takes years of training to become a master pizzaiolo at Di Matteo’s just like at any other pizzeria officially registered under the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.

“A good pizzaiolo must never run. He must learn how to make and work the dough using four simple ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast. If it is hot outside, you put less yeast. When it’s colder you add a bit more (…). The dough should always be light and smooth when stretched and shaped by the pizzaiolo. And it is important to never burn your pizza. To get it perfect, you must have a winning combination between the pizzaiolo and the fornaio’s (baker) work,” explains Ammendola.

According to the specifications of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the disk’s edges should form a crust called cornicione of up to 1 to 2 cm, while the center of the dough should reach a height of about 3 mm. The baking must absolutely be done in a wood oven at a temperature of 485 °C for approximately 90 seconds. “This quick passage under high heat should leave the pizza humid and soft, never burnt or overcooked,” says Ammendola.

Purists only consider two types of pizzas as tradizionale: the margherita and the marinara, although many more varieties using other ingredients do exist. The former uses tomato sauce (of the San Marzano variety), mozzarella Specialità tradizionale garantita (STG), diced mozzarella di bufala campana DOP or fior di latte, basil and olive oil. The latter only uses tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and olive oil.

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egg plant and fiddlehead pizza

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summer fresh pizza

The vegetables used to make this delicious pizza were picked on the same day by Justin at a small farm near Ottawa. With ingredients so fresh the taste is simply heavenly. Thanks Justin, great job! The sad part is that I didn’t get to taste it!

ingredients

pizza dough

tomato sauce

fresh stir fried vegetables

fresh mozzarella cheese (grated or cut in chunks)

add extra herbs and spices of choice

olive oil

place in very hot preheated oven 475* for about 15 minutes

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flatten pizza dough to desired thickness

spread tomato sauce evenly

add veggies

top with extra herbs and spices

finish off with a little cheese

bake for about 15 minutes or until dough is a crispy brown color

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pizza con pomodori e bietola

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arugula stir fry pizza

I bought some beautiful arugula today at the Jean Talon market. It’s perfect for making pizza. So on my way home I picked up some pizza dough at the bakery.

Making pizza is quick, and even more so when you have ready-made dough.

While waiting for the flattened dough to rise a second time, I quickly stir fried a few veggies.

1 big onion chopped

all herbs from your garden (parsley, basil, chives, oregano…etc…)

2 or 3 cups of arugula (you can also use, swiss chard, spinach, or kale)

salt, pepper

parmesan cheese

mozzarella

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Preheat oven at 475*

Stir fry onions 

Add salt and pepper

Fold in herbs and arugula 

Spread mixture over pizza dough and sprinkle with parmesan cheese

Bake for about 15 minutes or until crispy

I usually add the mozzarella 5 minutes before the pizza is ready

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omelette pizza with arugula

 

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fiddlehead and red pepper pizza

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