Pizza

A few weeks ago I discovered a new local restaurant with a wood fired oven. With the quality of ingredients on the pizza and the smoky flavour from the oven, I was sold. Since then, I’ve been having sporadic bouts of pizza craving.

When I’m low on supplies, I just stand in front of my refrigerator and stare at it, hoping something materialises. This time around I gaped until my mind paired the tub of feta with the za’atar. Perfect! I’d mix the za’atar with some extra virgin olive oil until it is spreadable then brush it on some pizza dough (oh, the craving!) top it off with some crumbled feta. Why didn’t I so this sooner?! I used the whole wheat pizza dough recipe I got off Oprah’s website and made two thin crust pizzas. After taking a bite from the first one, I realised it needed a kick, so I added some chopped jalapenos to the next one I made and finally achieved the flavour I was looking for.

Za’atar and Feta Pizza
Yield: 2 thin crust pizzas

Pizza dough (your favoruite recipe)
Cornmeal for sprinkling
4 tbsp za’atar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8-10 pickled jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like your pizza)
200g/ about 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Roll out the pizza dough thinner than you’d like your pizza crust, because the bread’s going to rise.
Transfer the dough to the baking stone or a thick baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and za’atar. Add enough olive oil until you get a spreadable mixture (since sometimes the za’atar contain roasted wheat which tends to absorb the oil).
Generously brush the rolled out pizza dough with the za’atar mixture.
Dot the pizza with crumbled feta.
Bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated oven set at 250°C/500°F or as high as your oven can go (if it’s higher make sure to watch the pizza closely because it’ll be done in no time!)
Slice it and serve.

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Just when I was making the garlicky twists, I realised that I didn’t really want to make those twists that end up being just plain dough at the edges. You know how the bread near the corner always turns out to have much lesser seasoning, herbs and cheese? You feel like you have to eat it with a straight face and pretend to enjoy it as much as the flavourful herb one? I’m sure you’re nodding along right now. Instead, I thought I’d just cut off the dough at the ends and use it up where it shines through instead of being a ho-hum twisty.

What I did was put together the dough that was leftover from the sides while I was making those incredible garlicky twist to make a zucchini and goat’s cheese pizza! I had seen this pizza on Smitten Kitchen when it was posted and when I was left with the scraps of dough, it so happened that I had some zucchini and goat’s cheese waiting for me in the fridge. And to top that I had some fresh basil that I’d grown a few months ago, now in full bloom (much thanks to Deeba, who sent me the seeds all the way from Gurgaon! =))

Fresh basil

The pizza was so delicious. The herb filled dough and the fresh slivered basil made the cut for me. I can’t tell you how packed with flavour fresh herbs right from the pot can be. Had it not been for such happy coincidences I wouldn’t have made this pizza. But you shouldn’t wait for coincidences to get you to make this. Go on, make it and thank me later.

Zucchini and Goat’s Cheese Pizza
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen
Yield: 1 10 inch pizza

10oz / 300g pizza dough (add in your favourite herbs for a flavourful pizza crust)
4 oz / 113g goat cheese, at room temperature
Few leaves of fresh basil, cut into thin slivers
1/2 medium yellow zucchini, sliced thinly
1/2 medium green zucchini, sliced thinly as well
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450F/230C degrees. Roll your pizza dough into a thin 10 inch circle and lay it on a tray or stone that has been dusted lightly with cornmeal.
With an offset spatula (more use than just icing cakes!) spread the cheese on the pizza dough. Sprinkle over salt and freshly ground pepper and scatter the fresh basil slivers over the cheese.
Arrange the zucchini coins in concentric circles over the goat cheese spread, overlapping them (alternate their colors to make it look pretty!) Drizzle with olive oil and finish with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the edges of your pizza are golden brown and the zucchini looks roasted and a little curled up at the edges.
Transfer to plate, slice it up and share if you can.

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Za’atar and Feta Pizza

Zucchini and Goats Cheese Pizza