I haven’t been cooking much lately.
Blame it on my husband being on business trips/meetings/at football games. Blame it on the fact that working long shifts at the hospital (me) means that there are no hot meals happening at my house (my husband doesn’t cook for those of you that don’t know me or are new to my blog). It could also be the insane amount of rain we’ve had over the past few months, which puts a damper on grilling.
Whatever the reason, it seemed like a good day to make a pizza and throw a bunch of stuff on it. This pizza dough recipe comes from my friend, Maggie, who is a wonderful cook. She makes a double batch for calzones. You can make a double batch and freeze it, if you’d like.
Maggie’s herb pizza crust
Mix together:
1 Tblsp of honey, 1 cup of warm water, 1 Tbsp. of yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes until bubbly.
Add:
1 Tblsp oregano
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 Tblsp. of basil
1 Tblsp. of salt
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour.
Mix until smooth, elastic ball of dough is formed. Let rise for an hour or so. Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes and then roll out to the desired size (In this case, I made a rectangle of no particular size).
for the pizza
Mix together 1/8 cup olive oil and 1 clove crushed garlic. If you are using jarred sun dried tomatoes, as I did, you may add 1-2 tsp. of the oil from the jar. At this point, you may also add 1 Tbsp. organic mayo and spread it over the crust much like a tomato pizza sauce, not extending it to the outer edges of the crust. If you decide to leave the mayo out, brush the olive oil/garlic mixture over the entire crust with a pastry brush.
Carmelize your onions.
I often joke that I love onions so much that I could eat them like an apple. While this may be a bit of an exaggeration, I am of the opinion that most things are improved by the addition of onion and will add them every chance I have.
Cut your onion in half and then slice very thin, using a mandolin if available. Saute them in a small skillet with a bit of olive oil until a deep golden brown.
Add the rest of your toppings to your prepared pizza crust. Be creative…work with what you have on hand to make a your own tasty creation. I had feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes in oil, spinach (added at the end of baking), and toasted pine nuts which made it almost (not quite-no olives) Greek Pizza. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, Remove from oven and add the spinach (adding it too soon will cause it to be very limp and stringy). Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
