Pizza

PANZAROTTO ... OF A SORT

By now you might have figured out that I'm a bit of a make-it-ahead-of-time person. Which involves freezing. Like the samosas. Or these delectable little pizza turn-overs. They make great quick dinners when you can just pull a few out of the freezer and throw them in the oven for 40 minutes with no prep whatsoever. That's what I did last night. The thing that separates this pizza from others is the fact that the dough is amazingly healthy. High in protein. Won't spike your blood sugar. And tastes fantastic. And has a delicate, yeasty tooth to it. You can use this dough to make panzerotto or to make big ol' open pizzas. Or small open pizzas. We'll often throw together 4 XL pizzas (by doubling the dough recipe) when we have a party. Because I make it with a simple and delicious tomato sauce and organic mozzarella, embellished with a touch of raw-milk parmigiano (there's this great cheese guy at the Riverdale Farmer's market), it appeals to all ages. I've been known to add sliced grape tomatoes and caramelized onions. Yum. 

part one: dough

ingredients:

1 cup  warm water

1 1/2 tsp honey

2 tsp yeast

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup almond meal

2 cups kamut flour

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp sea salt

(makes enough for 2 very large, thin crust pizzas)

directions:

1. combine water with honey (should be ‘bath’ temperature)

2. add yeast, stir, and let sit.

3. Combine other ingredients in a bowl (or in your mixer -- I use my mixer to make all doughs. but it's completely doable by hand, especially because of the short kneading time)

4. Add proofed yeast mixture and stir to combine and form into dough

5. Knead dough for a couple of minutes (only).

6. Make a dough ball, coat in olive oil, put in bowl, cover with a piece of parchment and a damp tea towel, and allow to rise.

part two: sauce

ingredients:

4 large tomatoes

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

sea salt to taste

1/2 tsp oregano (or basil or both)

black pepper

extra virgin coconut oil

(I generally make this sauce in larger quantity and freeze it in labelled glass jars. It keeps very well.)

directions:

1. finely mince the garlic

2. finely chop the onion

3. saute the onion and garlic in coconut oil in your favourite saute pan, with a little sea salt

4. finely chop the tomatoes

5. add the tomatoes to the thoroughly cooked onion and garlic. season with sea salt, black pepper, and herbs of your choice to your taste

6. cook the mixture until it has reduced and thickened. cooking time will depend on what type of tomatoes you choose. some have much less liquid than others. You don't want your sauce to be too watery.

part 3a: making pizza

1. to make pizzas, roll the dough on baking parchment until desired thickness has been reached (using a rolling pin). You can make 2 XL pizzas that will take up an entire baking sheet, or you can make little individual pizzas and let everyone decorate their own.

2. top with sauce and cheese and toppings of your choice

3. bake at 345 for 30 minutes or so

part 3b: making panzarotto

1. to make panzarotto, using your weigh scale, divide the dough into 30 gram balls. Keep them covered with parchment and a damp cloth when not being used.

2. roll each ball of dough out with a rolling pin

3. place a spoonful of sauce and some cheese (and whatever else you like) in the center

4. fold in half and crimp the edges with a fork

5. place on a lined baking sheet.

6. when the baking sheet is full, you have the option of freezing or baking the turnovers.

7. to freeze, put the baking sheet in the freezer for several hours. The turnovers can then be bagged and labelled to be used in the future.

8. to bake, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake at 345 for about 30 minutes

9. to bake from frozen, place on a line baking sheet and bake at 345 for about 40 minutes.

makes about 24 little turnovers