When you think about the useless gadgets you have in your kitchen, what comes to mind: Garlic Peeler, Corn Cob Butter Spreader, Egg Cooker, Onion Chopper, Electric Cheese Grater, Pineapple Slicer?
In our Irish home, it’s the Pizza Stone. We’ve had one lurking in our cupboards for at least twelve years. Do you know how many times I’ve used it? Once!
Pathetic, I know. The sad truth is…every time I go to toss it in the bin, I just can’t do it. “What If…?” always wins out over common sense. You know how it goes…“What if I need it to make the world’s best pizza for my friends?” Admit it…you know what I’m talking about because you’ve got your own version of “What if?” for the useless gadgets in your kitchen.
But now, at long last, it’s time to kiss our pizza stone goodbye once and for all. Last May I bought a book called Pizza on the Grill and its made me rethink pizza making at home.
Authors Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer start off their slim cookbook with this introduction: “Welcome to the church of grilled pizza. If you think that’s a joke, we aren’t’ kidding. Once you start making grilled pizza, it’ll be like “getting religion”. You’ll want to preach the word to everyone.” Well, just call me Sister Kim cause I’m here to tell you this pizza-on-the-grill-thing works.
We’ve been making homemade pizza {on the grill} every couple of weeks since last summer. This pizza making technique is so easy that we now make them for lunch and dinner, and we make them weekdays and weekends. Recently the kids and I made vegetarian pizzas, perfect for Lent’s meat-free Friday meals, which made me think to share the idea with all of you. Here are two photos of our asparagus, roasted tomato, pesto pizza.
Pizza is the perfect blank canvas to showcase the freshest vegetables of the season {whatever season you are in} or for the ingredients you regularly stock in your refrigerator. Some combinations I’ve been thinking about lately include: fingerling potato, baby kale with chèvre, spinach and artichoke with white bean sauce, beets with feta and micro greens, and shaved asparagus with Roquefort cheese, egg and pecorino. Mmmmh…just so good. And my cheat: when I don’t feel like making homemade pizza dough, I buy it pre-made {when I can find it} and I buy the roasted vegetables and grated cheese at the shops (supermarket)! If you have time to make your own dough, however, American celebrity chef Rachel Ray‘s recipe (below) is delicious.
There is just over two weeks left to Lent 2014. To keep you laughing and going meat-free-Friday all the way to Easter, here are two cute videos sent to me by one of my nieces ~ Meat Police – Episode 1 and Meat Police – Episode 2. Enjoy!
Pizza on the Grill
Serves 4-6
Dough Ingredients
8oz/250ml/1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon honey
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
12oz/338g/3 cups (or more) all-purpose or bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoons coarse salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling bowl
Directions
1. Mix the warm water and honey in a liquid measuring cup until the honey dissolves. Sprinkle with the yeast and let the mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, using a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to mix.
2. Pour the yeast mixture and 2 tbsp. olive oil over the flour mixture. Process until the dough comes together in a sticky ball, about 20 to 30 seconds.
3. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead, using the heel of your hand, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl; add the dough, turning to coat. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
5. Punch the dough down, then turn onto a cutting board. Using a knife, quarter the dough.
6. Shape 1 dough wedge roughly into a ball. Place the dough ball on the work surface and cup your hand lightly over it. Rotate your hand counterclockwise, letting the dough roll on the work surface. Continue until the surface of the dough is smooth. Repeat with the remaining dough wedges.
7. Place each dough ball in a large resealable plastic bag or plastic container with a lid. Refrigerate for 10 to 48 hours (the dough will continue to rise). Let the dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour before shaping, or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Let the frozen dough sit at room temperature for 2 hours before shaping.
8. Turn out 1 ball of dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Press it out on the work surface into a 9-inch round, a long rectangle or an oval. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. To make 3- to 4-inch minipizzas, cut each dough ball into 4 pieces, then press or stretch into shape.
Pizza on the Grill
1. Preheat your grill by setting all the burners on high. After lighting, close the lid and leave on high for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat of all the burners to medium.
2. Meanwhile, sprinkle your work surface with grits, polenta or flour. Place the dough in the middle of the surface and roll out with a rolling pin or stretch it out with your hands to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, depending on whether you want a thick-crust or thin-crust pizza.
3. Drizzle or brush one side with olive oil.
4. Pick up the dough and, in one motion, lay it down flat on the cooking grate of the grill from back to front. Close the lid and grill for 3 minutes (less if you don’t want grill marks). No peeking! Then, check the crust and, if necessary, continue grilling a few minutes more until the bottom is nicely browned.
5. Using tongs, lift the crust to a cutting board and add sauce and toppings as desired.
6. Turn off the center burners on your grill. Then place the pizza back on the cooking grate and grill with the lid down until the bottom is well browned and the cheese is melted, about 5-8 minutes or longer if necessary.
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