Sunday, November 22, 2009

Pizza with walnuts, blue cheese, onions, and arugula








Make a pizza dough of 2 1/2 cups white flour, a handful of yeast, a handful of salt, some honey, and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Let rise.

Slice two red onions into rounds. Heat some oil in a large pan, add the onions, and cover in red wine. Cook on high until the wine has reduced.

Mash garlic with some salt in a mortar and pestle, and mix in olive oil. Set aside.

Combine 7 oz part-skim brick mozzarella, cut into small cubes, with 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled, and 4 oz grated parmesan.

Have ready also one 1/2-lb bag walnuts, one bunch wild arugula, washed, and a lemon.

Place a pizza stone in the oven and heat as hot as it will go. As with any pizza-making time, be sure to close any doors to rooms with smoke alarms, and learn where the "silent" button is on the smoke alarm in the kitchen.

Divide the pizza dough in half. Roll out half the dough on a lightly floured surface, and transfer to a pizza peel that has been sprinkled with corn meal. Assemble the pizza: half the now-carmelized red onions, 1/4 the cheese mixture, half a bag of walnuts, 1/3 of the arugula, another 1/4 of the cheese mixture, a sprinkling of salt, and zest of half the lemon. Brush the crust of the pizza with the garlic oil.

Transfer pizza to the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, assemble the second pizza. When the pizza has cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle with 1/6 of the arugula. Let cool five minutes before even thinking about trying to cut it.

Finish dinner with a lettuce salad with dressed in the juice from the lemon, olive oil, salt, and any leftover mashed garlic. Then conclude with chocolate mousse.


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