Pesto, Potato and Red Onion Pizza

When we entertain, which isn’t very often, Robbie and I like to do pizza, with all manner of toppings and themes, like Mexican perhaps. In the summer we use the grill, in the winter the oven—its very convivial to hang out at the bar in our kitchen, chatting and sipping and watching the pizzas go in the oven and come out, and tempting all of us with a new combo. Thank you Deborah Madison, who, in The Greens Cookbook, taught me all about pizza possibilities. Smoked cheese is my latest discovery—I love the extra lilt it gives to pizzas.

Pizza in America is not what people usually make at home—but a quick and easy order and delivery. Robbie even fell for a dinner invitation recently; when the host said we were having pizza, Robbie pictured homemade crust and creative toppings. Boy was he surprised when dinner came out of a box.

We went to Moab for a 3-day desert holiday on Monday and I was in charge of dinner that evening.

Bron French mandoline

I packed our pizza stone and the mandoline and made sure to bring the green chile pesto and the package of Iraqi flatbread, a gift from our friend Peter, that I had been hoarding in the freezer. In Salt Lake City, pick up this yummy Persian flatbread at Pars Market on Highland Drive.

Iraqi flat bread

I used the mandoline to quickly slice the potatoes thinly, and I even impressed myself with how easily the pizzas came together.

This recipe is for one pizza, but you can make as many as you wish. Use my whole wheat pizza dough recipe or pick up some Iraqi flatbread—the cooking time will vary, depending on which you use, the dough and the cooking vehicle itself.

Pesto, Potato and Red Onion Pizza

1 10-inch pizza crust, raw and freshly shaped, or pre-baked

Several Warba, yellow or red potatoes (6 to 10 ounces total) well-scrubbed and very thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Green chile or regular pesto

¼ cup very thinly sliced red onion

About 4 ounces smoked cheddar or mozzarella cheese, grated

Over low flame, heat a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced potatoes and the garlic and season with salt. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of water and cover the skillet. Cook another 5 minutes, just until the potatoes are tender. Take off the cover and let any remaining water cook away. Set aside.

Place the pizza stone in the oven or grill and preheat to 450 degrees or as hot as you can get the grill.

Put the pizza crust on a pizza peel or an upside-down pizza pan that you have sprinkled lightly with cornmeal. (The cornmeal acts as ball bearings so the pizza can slide onto the stone.)

Drizzle some olive oil on the crust and spread it around with a brush or your fingers. Spread about 3 tablespoons of pesto on next, followed by the red onion slices and some of the cheese. Now arrange the potatoes, so that all of the dough is covered except for ¾ of an inch around the edge. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the potatoes.

Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake it for 6 to 10 minutes, until the edges and bottom are deep golden brown.

Makes 1 pizza

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Caramelized Onion and Chickpea Soup

I don’t think it is officially Indian summer in Park City, though we are certainly enjoying very cool nights with daytime temperatures reaching into the high 70’s. Each morning we notice a few more hints of red oak in the green hills that never turned brown this summer. The only not-still-green are the grasses, and the seeds from those drying grasses are driving anyone around here with allergies to the brink of wishing for early snow. And those lovely yellow flowers of the desert sage—they aren’t so forgiving to the watery eye and runny nose crowd either.

I think I got hit with a double whammy this week. I have all the symptoms of these allergies and a cold besides. Makes me want onion soup for dinner.

onions above the kitchen sink

Our Ranui Garderns CSA box has included onions the last 4 or 5 weeks and I bought a bag of organic onions at the store the day before we received our first CSA onions. The first couple of weeks the onions came with their stalks. I braided them together and hung them in a holding pattern above the kitchen sink. I think onions are good feng shui, the ancient Chinese study of the natural environment, and I am hoping they will keep our kitchen protected. And maybe, even with my attempt to incorporate onions into many recent meals, we’ll still have a few onions left in a month, when our weekly CSA boxes cease for the season. Slicing this many onions can a tearful job. If you have a Cuisinart—use the slicing disc and you will be that much closer to soup for dinner, with time for a shot of tequila. About the tequila: I use 100% agave to deglaze the onions because that’s in our liquor cabinet and brandy is not. You won’t find misoin a classic onion soup either, though the tequila and the miso each add a subtle note.

caramelized onions

 

 

 

Caramelized Onion and Chickpea Soup

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, or butter or a combination of the 2

4 large onions, thinly sliced

all the onions

4 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tablespoons 100% agave tequila añejo or brandy

5 cups vegetable broth

¾ cup cooked chickpeas

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon dark miso paste

Sat and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toasted baguette slices with basil pesto

Heat the oil and/or butter in a heavy bottomed skillet. Stir in the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and turning brown. This will take time—at least 45 minutes. If the onions start to brown too quickly, turn down the heat; don’t hurry their caramelization. Stir in the garlic in the last 10 minutes, after you see some hints of brown onion.

Deglaze the pan with the tequila, stirring it around. Transfer to a saucepan or small soup pot. Add the vegetable stock, the chickpeas and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or so.

While the soup is cooking, toast some slices of baguette and slather them with basil pesto. Set aside.

In a small bowl smooth the miso paste with water. Just before serving, fish out the bay leaves and stir the miso into the soup. Season with salt, if needed, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls, slipping a few pesto croutons into each bowl.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Arugula Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette and Candied Pecans

Last night I had mizuna and roasted summer squash salad for $5–at local’s night at a local restaurant. Now we don’t have any squash in our Ranui Garden’s CSA box this week and it’s arugula instead of mizuna, but the concept is transferable; excellent fresh veggies with a light and slightly sweet dressing. Use the ratio you wish of the peppery arugula to salad greens.

½ cup pecan pieces

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar

½ teaspoon Real Salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons honey

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 or 2 carrot, peeled into strips

Arugula leaves, stems removed

Ranui salad greens

In a heavy-bottomed skillet, over medium heat, stir the pecans and sugar until the nuts are toasted and the sugar melts into them. Set aside to cool. Break them apart into pieces.

Make a vinaigrette dressing by whisking the vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and honey together,  then whisking the in the olive oil.

Toss the greens with the carrot strips, candied pecans and the dressing. Arrange on plates.

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Quick and Easy Potatoes in Coconut Red Curry Sauce

This spicy Thai curry sauce goes with most any vegetable, or combination thereof. Add cubes of drained and pressed firm tofu for protein. Try to include something green for color, like asparagus, or the zucchini in this week’s Ranui Gardens CSA box, unless you are using it in Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. If you don’t have a green vegetable, be especially sure to garnish with chopped basil, cilantro or parsley leaves.

Virgin coconut oil is ideal for cooking the onions; introduce this healthful ingredient to your pantry if you have not already. Use the lite or regular coconut milk, your choice. Serve over steamed quinoa or brown rice, which love to absorb the extra sauce.

1 pound fine quality small potatoes, such as the Warbas in this weeks CSA box

Other vegetables and/or tofu, optional

2 teaspoons red Thai curry paste

1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

Real Salt

Chopped basil, cilantro or parsley leaves

Scrub the potatoes and slice them 1/3-inch thick. Boil them in salted water just until tender, then drain. Prepare any other vegetables so they are ready.

In a small bowl, using a spoon, mash the curry paste with some of the coconut milk to smoothen the paste. Stir in the remaining coconut milk.

Heat a skillet, add the coconut oil and swirl it around. Stir in the onions and sauté until the onion becomes translucent. Stir in the red curry/coconut milk mixture. Add the potatoes, and optional veggies or tofu, if using, and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with more salt, if needed. Serve garnished with chopped green leaves.

Makes about 4 servings.

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Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Muffintalk is when you get together with foodie friends and your conversation is all about food, its flavors, types, ingredients, you name it, much to the boredom of someone who gravitates to conversation over sports, or motorcycles, or the book they are reading or what happened last week on Survivor. This blog is mostly about vegetarian cookery and recipes using your CSA veggies, but every once in a year I feel the need to post a muffin recipe. After all, a blog named muffintalk should include some literal muffin talk, especially when vegetables are one of the ingredients.

The actor Jim Davis who played Jock Ewing on Dallas was once quoted, “Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.” That’s Mr. Davis’ idea, not mine, though you can find recipes for all three in my cookbook, Chocolate Snowball. These muffins appear in Chocolate Snowball as Chocolate Zucchini Bread. As with most breakfast quick breads, you can bake the batter in muffin tins instead of a loaf pan.

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

3/4 cup plus 1/4 cup sliced almonds

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners, or coat the tins with melted butter and dust lightly with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the oil and vanilla extract.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the cream cheese mixture, blending well. Mix in the zucchini, 3/4 cup of the almonds and the chocolate morsels. Divide batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of almonds. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched with a finger or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool about 5 minutes, then remove from the tins.

Makes 12 muffins.

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