Category: Uncategorized

Pizza Night

We have family movie night each Friday and… pretty much every other Friday, “make your own pizza” is on the menu. We’ve gotten it down to a science and this is one of our go-tos. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 3/4 teaspoon of sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 big glugs of olive oil
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (we use Italian pizza flour/”Typo 00″)
  • 1 1/4 cups of warm water

Makes dough for 3 pizzas. Requires a minimum of 3 hours to allow for the dough to rise.

Sauce and toppings

  • Tomato sauce
  • 2-3 achovies
  • fresh mozeralla, drained of water 30 minutes prior
  • additional toppings as you like: chorizo, pineapple and ham, etc.

Directions

In a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the yeast and flour. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water. Add the liquids to the dry mix. Then add the olive oil until pliant. Knead for a few minutes in the mixer. Then knead by hand to ensure dough is elastic and smooth.

Transfer the dough to a container that is large enough for the dough expand. Cover the dough with a towel and put under a warm source (such as a lamp). Allow dough to rise for at least 3 hours.

One hour before you are ready to make the pizzas, place your fresh mozarella in a sieve with a bowl underneath to get rid of excess water and concentrate flavors. Separately, in a blender, mix the tomato sauce of your choice with 1-3 anchovies. If you haven’t made this sauce prior, start with one and then adjust. The anchovies bring a special umami flavor to the pizzas [and I learned from one of our special Italian sources (Sofia) that the anchoies are nonna’s secret ingredient for making pizzas for her family].

Pre-heat oven to 230º C/440º F.

Separate the dough into three sections. Coat pans in olive oil. Roll out the dough very thinly and place on pan. Cover the rolled-out doughed pans to prevent drying out if for longer than 30min-1hour.

Place tomato sauce, with desired toppings on the pizza. Once oven has reached 230ºC/440º F, put the pizzas in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, check to see your desired crispness as cooking time will vary based upon volume of toppings. I will sometimes slice each pizza in 4 and put back in the oven for another minute or 2, but we like our pizzas on the crispier side.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 4 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
  • 500 mL vegetable broth
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
  • 1 hefty tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2-4 pieces of lemongrass
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt

For garnish:

  • dallop of créme fraîche

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350° F/176°C. Cut butternut squash in chunky pieces. Scoop out seeds and discard. Brush each piece inside and out with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the coconut oil. Salt and pepper. Add garlic cloves. Place cut-side-down on the baking sheet and roast until completely tender, about 1 hour. Remove the squash from the oven and let cool, then scoop out and reserve the flesh.

On low heat, add broth, coconut milk, ginger and tomato paste.

Add flesh of butternut quash and garlic (skins removed). Allow to cool slightly.

Transfer the mixture to a blender in batches and purée.

Transfer the purée back to stove over simmering heat. The liquitity depends upon the thickness of your coconut milk. If you prefer a more liquid version, add more broth. Add lemongrass. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove lemon grass. Add salt. Mix.

Garnish with a dallop of créme fraîche and serve.