Capers and Eggplant Pizza

I confess, I’m a pizza junkie, in fact as long as I have cheese, some sort of tomatoes (sauce, diced, sliced, pureed, or whatever) and a crust, I’m happy. I constantly experiment with the toppings, the following recipe is my latest creation. Yes, I know, I didn’t discover America; others have made similar pizzas before me – but – this one came out delicious and I’ll be making it often.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
2. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Roll out to a 10″ circle.

Topping

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant
• 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed
• 1/2 lb of mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 25 cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• basil (for garnish)

Directions

1. Wash and slice the eggplant into very thin slices (I used a mandolin). Grill the eggplant slices in a pan for about 2 to 2.5 minutes on each side.
2. Wash and quarter the cherry tomatoes. Cut the mozzarella cheese into medium-large dices and tear the basil after cleaning it carefully.
3. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese into, the capers and the cherry tomatoes over the pizza; season with olive oil, salt and pepper, then bake at 450 F for 4 minutes.
4. After 4 minutes add the eggplant and continue cooking for another 4 minutes, until the edges brown lightly browned and crispy. Remove from oven, garnish with the basil leaves and serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Raffaello Pizza – Amore Italiano!

Rafaello (37 West 46th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue, NY, NY 10036 – Tel:212.575.6550), is set to revolutionize what we call kosher pizza, here in New York; the owner is Italian (and operates a famous restaurant in Rome), and so is the Chef. This past Sunday, I stopped by to see what the fuss was about, not only can I testify that everything I’d heard was true, but actually it all was an understatement. They offer 17 different types of pizza, including one gluten free, two different calzones, salads and three different types of pasta. But it is that pizza of theirs where they truly shine; as their website says:

The thin crust made with a dough left to rise for 2 days in order to minimize the amount of yeast and make it more digestible together with hand picked fresh ingredients makes it the perfect meal.

At Raffaello pizza slices are not triangular, they are rectangular and sizes are generous; the choices are as pleasant to the eye, as they are in aroma, as they are to the palate…

Slices of Eggplant Pizza and Black Olive with San Marzano Tomatoes and Mozarella… both types are mouth watering!

Cheese, pasta and black olives…

The calzones come freshly baked rather than rewarmed – as other establishments all too often do – filled with vegetables and oozing with melted cheese…

But I was in for a big delicious surprise at the end, at the recommendation of a couple next to my table I ordered the dessert pizza…

It didn’t look as elegant as the selections that preceded it, but the Chocolate Pizza with hot hazelnut spread and powdered sugar was better than I could ever have imagined, it certainly was a great way to end the meal. As a result of all the above, when I somehow found myself in the neighborhood at lunch time, yesterday, I just had to go back!

CS

Pizza Fiorentina

As a lifelong pizza connoisseur I can’t wait to make it this evening! From 365 Ways to Cook, by Firefly Books (page 150):

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes (plus making the pizza dough*)
Cooking time: 7-8 minutes per pizza

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling and grazing
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 pound baby spinach leaves
• 1 Basic Pizza Dough recipe *
• all purpose flour for, for dusting
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 7 ounces mozzarella cheese, chopped
• 20 black olives
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large frying panwith the garlic for 15 seconds, add the spinach and cook over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until just wilted.Season lightly with salt and pepper
2. Heat a baking sheet in a preheated 475 F. oven. Place 1 pizza dough ball on a 9 inch pizza pan, Push down on the dough with your fingertips, pressing it out to fill the pan, leaving the border slightly thicker. If you get any tears, forcefully pinch the dough around the hole together.
3. Soon 3 tablespoons of sauce over the base  and scatter wityh a quarter of the mozzarella, spinach and olives. Crack 1 egg onto the pizza, drizzle with oil to glaze. remove the baking sheet from the oven, slide the pan onto it, then quickly return to the oven. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until crisp and risen. Serve immediately. As the first pizza cooks prepare the next for the oven.

—xOx—XoX—xOx—

From page 7:

* Basic Pizza Dough

Makes 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus rising

Ingredients

• 1/4 ounce fresh yeast or 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
• 1 pinch of granulated sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 1/3 cup lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Disslove the yeast in a bowl with the sugar, 2 tablespoons of the flour and 1/4 cup of water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to form bubbles. then add the remaining water. Add the salt and half the remaining flour and stir with one hand until you have a paste-like mixture. gradually add all the remaining flour, working the mixture until you have a moist dough.
2. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a moist cloth and leave to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.
3. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and knead the dough for 10 minute, until smooth and elastic. Shape into 4 equal-sized balls and place, spaced apart, on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with a moist cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Jack’s Gourmet – Part 2

What I like about Jack’s Gourmet sausages most, specifically and because of their superb taste, is the many dishes they can be used in. This past Tuesday I made a Sausage Pizza using both their Sweet Italian and the Hot Italian sausages and I used SYR‘s simple recipe.

SYR's Sausage Pizza, "delicious" hardly does it justice...

SYR’s Sausage Pizza

Ingredients

• 9” pizza crust (I used a crust from Tradition, made with honey, with raised edges to avoid spillage)
• Pizza Sauce (enough to fill the crust)
• 1 cup shitake mushrooms, chopped (you may use any other kind of mushrooms as well)
• 6 Pearl onions, chopped (little, sweet, Vidalia onions might even work better)
• 1 elephant garlic clove, chopped
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 10 grape tomatoes, sliced (you may use any other kind, including sun-dried tomatoes)
• 1 Jack’s Gourmet Sweet Italian sausage, sliced
• 1 Jack’s Gourmet Hot Italian sausage, sliced
• Oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Put crust in oven for 7 minutes to make it crisp.
3. Take out crust and pour in pizza sauce, thin and evenly.
4. Suatee the chopped mushrooms, onions, and garlic, lay them out on the sauce.
5. Sautee the spinach and the basil, add on the sauce.
6. Add the sausage slices, alternating each time between the Sweet Italian and the Hot Italian.
7. Sprinkle the whole with the oregano. salt and pepper.
8. Put in oven for 15-20 minutes or until sausage slices look slightly brown.

I washed it down with a glass of well chilled Bartenura Asti Spumante. Scrumptious and delightful pairing I would have enjoyed it tremendously even if I had ordered it in a restaurant!

As for tonight, I’ll be getting a little more adventurous by making this salad:

Radicchio, Mango and Pomegranate Salad with Sausage

Ingredients

• 2 medium shallots, sliced 1/8 inch thick (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon NatraZyle Xylitol (you may use granulated sugar, if you wish)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed mango juice
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1pound radicchio and curly endives mixed, washed, dried, and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup cubed mango
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 small pomegranate)
• 1 Jack’s Gourmet Boereworks sausage, sliced
• 1 Jack’s Gourmet Mexican Style Chorizo sausage, sliced

Directions

1. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a bowl halfway with ice and water; set aside. Bring a small saucepan of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add shallots and blanch until tender, about 30 seconds. Drain shallots and place in the ice water bath until cool. Drain and set aside.
2. Combine vinegar, NatraZyle, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the Xylitol, or sugar, has dissolved. Pour the boiling liquid over the reserved shallots and pickle until the shallots are slightly wilted and have lost any sharp taste, about 5 minutes.
3. Drain the shallots into a strainer set over a large, heatproof salad bowl, collecting any pickling liquid in the bowl; set the shallots aside.
4. Whisk the mango juice, mustard, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper into the pickling liquid. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
5. Heat the sausages in a sautee pan with a small amount of oil until golden brown on all sides, approximately 4-6 minutes.
6. Add the sausage slices to the salad.
7. Add the radicchio, curly endives and mango slices and toss well to combine. Top with pomegranate seeds, pickled shallots and serve.

The contrast between the mild Boereworks and hot Mexican Style Chorizo combined with the rest of the salad should be very interesting. I can’t wait!

CS

RELATED POSTS

Jack’s Gourmet – Part 1

Sausage Pizza (Kosher)

Radicchio, Mango and Pomegranate Salad With Sausage (Kosher)

Pizza, Pizza!

Since I was a kid, pizza has always been a favorite. Laura Frankel, has been one of my favorite Chefs since I discovered Shallots, years ago here in New York, on the very location that is currently Solo. Now I found an interesting recipe by Laura Frankel, a perfect summer dish, could anything be better?!?

GET YOUR DAIRY ON

Pizza Rustica is a traditional Italian savory pie. The name means “rustic pie”. Traditionally served cold-this delicious pie is perfect for Shavuot or any time you want a light lunch or dinner. Plan to make the pie one day ahead to allow plenty of time to chill the pie completely.

4 large egg yolks and 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
2 pounds whole milk ricotta (look for deli style-hand packed. It is rich, dense and slightly sweet)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes
½ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 recipe pastry dough (recipe follows)
Egg wash: 1 egg lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Position a rack on the bottom third of the oven, and preheat to 375 F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta and Parmesan cheese, mixing well. Add the mozzarella cubes
3. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll, let it rest for about 5-10 minutes. Roll out the larger piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 16-17 inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9 or 10-inch spring form pan. Gently press the dough to fit the inside of the pan and the sides. Trim the overhanging dough to about 1-inch. Save the scraps for patching up any holes.
4. Spoon the filling into the dough-lined spring form pan.
5. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Place the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges together to seal, and fold the edges of the dough inward and crimp with your fingers or the tines of a fork. Brush the egg wash over the entire pastry top, and cut several slits in the top to let the steam escape.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the pie comes out clean and the crust is golden brown, about 60-75 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Let pie cool for at least 20-30 minutes before refrigerating until chilled all the way through.
8. Release the pan sides and transfer pie to a platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

Dough for Pizza Rustica

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
2 sticks (1 cup) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
4 large eggs, beaten lightly

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, pepper and zest together in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.
2. Add the cold pieces of butter into the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is broken down and the mixture resembles a coarse, sandy meal.
3. Drizzle in about half of the beaten eggs and pulse several times until the dough holds together when pinched. Process a few more seconds, until the dough forms into one big clump. The dough should be smooth and soft, but not sticky. If it looks crumbly or dry, add a few drops of water or cream. If it’s sticky, add a tablespoon or two more flour.
4. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into two disks, one about 1/3 larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but my mouth is already watering…

CS