Monday, September 30, 2013

The Husband's Homemade Pizzas - Arugula Pizza + Marinara Pizza


Getting Ready
- Place the pizza stone in the oven before turning it on, as you'll want to heat up the stone along with the oven.  I've seen pizza recipes that call for temperatures of anywhere from 400-550 degrees.  We always set it on 450. It's enough to get the job done without fearing that my oven will explode.
- Let the dough sit out in its bag/wrapper for quite a while.  Room temperature dough is crucial in order to get thinner pizzas.  The colder the dough, the less elastic and less thin the pizza will get.  I let mine sit for over 30 minutes.  


ARUGULA PIZZA 
Ingredients
pizza dough, brought to room temperature
- goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 red onion, sliced thin
- pesto
- arugula, roughly chopped
- pecorino romano (or parmigiano)
- truffle oil (optional)


What You'll Do:

1. lay your pizza peel out and sprinkle corn meal on the board.
2. lightly flour your surface (counter or cutting board) and your hands.
3. stretch the dough to desired size (I never use a rolling pin.  I simply hold the dough with both my hands side by side, and let the dough hang for a moment.  Then I slowly rotate the dough, always keeping my hands at the top and allowing gravity to do the work for me, almost as though you're turning a car wheel with your hands at the top of the wheel.  If you get a lot of resistance, the dough is too cold.  Once the dough is almost to the size I'd like it, I then turn the pizza horizontal and use my fists to gently stretch the dough from underneath.)
4. transfer the dough to the pizza peel. 
5. spread pesto across the dough, leaving a 1/4" margin at the perimeter.
6. place the red onion evenly on the dough.
7. repeat with the goat cheese.
8. bake for 10 - 15 minutes until the bottom of the pizza is crisp and the top is golden brown. 
9. once removed, immediately place arugula on top of the pizza (we do heaping handfuls, not only because we love arugula, but also because it wilts a little from the heat of the pizza dough).
10. shave pecorino/parmigiano over entire pizza, including the crust.
11. sprinkle truffle oil on top (sparingly) and enjoy!


MARINARA PIZZA 
- pizza dough, brought to room temperature (our favorite is still Trader Joe's)
- a little flour for your hands and your counter
- marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- dried oregano
- fresh basil
- shredded mozzarella
- pecorino romano (or parmigiano) 


What You'll Do:

1. lay your pizza peel out and sprinkle corn meal on the board.
2. lightly flour your surface (counter or cutting board) and your hands.
3. stretch the dough to desired size 
4. transfer the dough to the pizza peel. 
5. spread the marinara in a thin, even layer across the dough.
6. sprinkle with oregano.
7. get your mozzarella cheese on.
8. top with basil.
9. bake for 10 - 15 minutes until the bottom of the pizza is crisp and the top is golden brown. 
10. shave pecorino/parmigiano over the entire pizza, including the crust.

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