Tag Archives: pizza

early spring pizza

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Even though we’ve had some unseasonably warm temps over the past month, last Saturday marked the true beginning of spring for me: it was the first outdoor farmer’s market of the year in Madison.  The farmer’s market is my favorite thing about Madison and while it still takes place during the colder months it is moved indoors and is smaller and just not the same experience.  So you can imagine my excitement at this rite of yearly passage.

I foolishly decided to sleep in on Saturday and did not get to the market until peak time and then had to deal with the crowds.  I had to suppress my New York instincts when people would abruptly stop in front of me to admire some produce while I was trying my best to manuever around the square and get what I needed before the time on my parking meter ran out.  However, I managed to not yell at any of the sweet old ladies or adorable young families leisurely enjoying their day before me.  (But they really shouldn’t lollygag so much.  I’m just saying.)

There wasn’t a ton of variety at the market yet but I did manage to pick up some of early spring’s finest: ramps, green garlic, and rhubarb (more on that later in the week).  I have never worked with ramps or green garlic before but upon returning home with my bit of nature’s finery I promptly did some Googling and found a recipe for spring pizzas that involved ramps.  The green garlic part was inspired by a pizza I had eaten the previous weekend at a great local bakery/pizza place.  Done and done.

I added some soppressatta because I like cured meat and think it should be a part of most pizzas.  I just do.  But you could certainly make your version sans meat if you like and that is in fact how the original recipe had it.

The base for this pizza is ricotta mixed with a bit of lemon peel.  Super simple.  Separately you sautee the ramps and green garlic with olive oil and a bit of salt and then layer that over the ricotta mixture.  Then add the meat if you like and finish baking.  Once out of the oven add some fresh basil and parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil and there you have it.  Spring in pizza form.

(Side note: I should have photographed the cooked pizza before cutting into it.  It was not so pretty once a pizza cutter dug in and severed the basil leaves into smithereens so thus, no after picture.  My apologies.  This is real life though and sometimes these things happen.)

Pizza with Ricotta, Ramps, Green Garlic, and Soppressatta (adapted from Spring Pizzas recipe by Alex Guarnaschelli found at www.foodnetwork.com)

  • 1 pound pizza dough (I used the whole wheat pre-made dough at Trader Joe’s, good stuff)
  • All-purpose flour, for dusting
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and drizzling
  • 6 ounces ramps, trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green garlic
  • Kosher salt
  • 10 slices soppressata or other cured meat, if desired
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • Coarse sea salt
  • Coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  • Grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet or pizza stone with olive oil. Stretch the dough into 12-inch round and place on the baking sheet or pizza stone and bake until golden, about 12 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Toss the ramps and green garlic with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with kosher salt. Saute until ramps are just wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into pieces.

Mix the ricotta, lemon zest, the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and some sea salt and pepper in a bowl. Brush the crusts with olive oil (this will protect them from getting soggy), then spread with the ricotta mixture and season with sea salt. Top with the ramps, green garlic, and soppressata. Return to the oven until warmed through, about 2 minutes.

Top the pizzas with basil, parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

fancy pizza

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This year I have decided to give up wheat for Lent.  Please don’t click away!  I’ve always wanted to give a gluten-free diet a shot and figure with the added guilt of Lent this will be a good six-week period in which to do so.  I am going to try to make wheat-free baking awesome over the next month and a half so don’t you fear– you’ll never know the difference.

However, before I get started on that I have one more non gluten-free recipe to share with you.  Pizza!

I made this pizza last weekend and kind of had a rough idea of the toppings I wanted to try but wound up winging it based on what I had on hand.  Started with butternut squash puree as the sauce and then snipped some rosemary from the plant that I have somehow managed to keep alive since last summer.  Miracle of miracles.

I caramelized up some onions and added those and then I added a local cured meat that is in the salami family by my estimations.  Like a third cousin to it.

Cheese.  You can’t have pizza without cheese.  I had just purchased a nice hunk of Manchego so sliced that with a vegetable peeler and put that on top of the whole thing.

Then I baked it on a pre-heated pizza stone and enjoyed.

The recipe below is for the whole wheat crust but please have fun experimenting with toppings.

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust with Olive Oil (from “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois)

Note this recipe makes enough dough for 4 pizzas.  Refrigerate unused dough in lidded container for up to 7 days.

  • 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 tablespoon granulated yeast
  • 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1/8 cup vital wheat gluten
  • 1 3/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 1/8 cup olive oil

Whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten.

Add the liquid ingredients and mix without kneading, using a spoon, food processor, or heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle).

Cover (not airtight) and allow dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately two hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold.

Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 550 degrees F (or 500 degrees F if that’s your maximum) with a pizza stone placed near the bottom third of the oven.

Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece.  Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

On a wooden cutting board or pizza peel, flatten the dough with your hands and a rolling pin to produce a 1/8-inch-thick round.  Dust with flour to keep the dough from adhering to the board.  Use a dough scraper to unstick the dough as needed.  When you’re done the dough round should have enough flour under it to move easily when you shake the board or peel.

Transfer the rolled out dough to the pre-heated pizza stone and top as desired.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Allow the pizza to cool slightly on a cooling rack before serving.