Over the weekend we made some mighty fine pizzas. One was all veg and almost all local, for my Dark Days of Winter Challenge. Using ingredients from my garden, canned last summer, and a few non-local ingredients, olive oil, yeast and a smidge of mozz, I made a delicious Greek inspired pizza pie. The main ingredients were homemade tomato sauce, homegrown, roasted and preserved red peppers, homegrown and dried Greek oregano & and feta cheese fm Breezy Willow Farm. If you're interested in the veggie results, and you should be, check out the recipe and pics on my Eating Local: Feta & Roasted Red Pepper Pizza.
On to the meat!
Ingredients: For the dough ¼ cup white wine ¾ cup warm water 1 ½ ounces yeast 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons of semolina
For the sauce - 1 jar of homemade tomato sauce
For the toppings - 1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained, patted dry & sliced - 1 jar of green California olives, drained & sliced - 1/2 red onion sliced into THIN half moons - 1 lb of feta cheese broken up - 1 lb of hot Italian sausage, out of casings - 2-3 slices of mozzerella cheese - 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
Method: For the dough we love Mario Batali's recipe & stick to it -Combine wine, water and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, salt and olive oil and mix thoroughly. Start by adding 1 cup of flour and make a wet paste. Add remaining flour and incorporate. -Place dough on a lightly floured board and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. -Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for 45 minutes -Roll out the dough into your desired shape & sprinkle with semolina -In a hot skillit, brown the dough on each side (can also be grilled)
For the sauce -Warm up the sauce over a gentle simmer, only use enough sauce to coat the pie. You are not using the whole jar!
Top it & Broil it -in a pan, brown & break up the sausage - be sure to cook it through -in the same pan cook the onions -spoon sauce over the pizza then layer on the mozzerella, feta, onions, sausage, olives, and roasted red peppers -broil the pizza until its bubbly then top with the oregano (crush it in our hand while you sprinkle it)
