Pizza With Escarole Roasted Peppers And Olives Recipes

TUSCAN GRILLED PIZZA WITH ESCAROLE

Steps:

• Prepare a hot fire (475° to 500°F) in a wood-fired grill.
• Combine the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small bowl and let stand for 30 minutes. Combine the mozzarella and fontina in a bowl.
• Heat a large skillet on the grill, add the pine nuts, and toast, stirring occasionally, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add the escarole and cook, stirring occasionally until it wilts, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside
• Divide the dough into 2 round pieces and form each into a ball. Do not work the dough too much. Roll one ball into a 10- to 11-inch round. Transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet and brush the top of the dough with olive oil. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
• Take the dough and all of the toppings to the grill. Place one pizza round, oiled side down, on the grill. Cover the grill and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the pizza over and brush the marked side to within 1/2 inch of the edge with the garlic-infused oil. Move the pizza off direct heat. Sprinkle half of the combined cheeses on top of the oil. Top with half of the escarole, pine nuts, and olives, spreading evenly. Close the lid and bake until golden and crisp, about 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make a second pizza.
• In a bowl, combine the yeast, 1/4 cup of the warm water, and 1/4 cup of the flour in a small bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water, the olive oil, and salt. Mix the dough thoroughly. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, elastic and a bit tacky to the touch, 7 to 8 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to cover with oil. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Or, let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, bring the dough to room temperature.

PIZZA WITH ROASTED PEPPERS AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone in it.
• Peel the roasted red peppers, remove the seeds and membranes (holding the peppers over a bowl to catch the juices), and slice in thin strips. Toss in the bowl with the juices, salt and pepper to taste, the garlic, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
• Roll out the dough, and line a 12- or 14-inch pizza pan. Brush all but the rim of the dough with the remaining olive oil. Arrange the green pepper rings over the dough. Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and top with slices of mozzarella, placing the cheese inside and between the pepper rings. Distribute the roasted peppers over the surface of the pizza, and drizzle on the juice remaining in the bowl. Return to the oven for five to 10 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned and the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven, scatter the shaved Parmesan and the basil over the top, and serve.

PIZZA ESCAROLE (ESCAROLE PIE - ITALIAN)

Steps:

• Cut bottom off escarole. Then cut in half. Clean escarole in sink of water as many times until water is clean and no dirt. Boil in pot of salted water until tender - approximately 20 minutes. If bitter add 1-2 teaspoons sugar. Drain very well. Squeeze out all excess water with hands or in paper towel or dish towel.
• Next sauté escarole in frying pan with garlic and olive oil. Cold garlic 1st in cold oil or else escarole becomes crisp. Add red pepper flakes if you like it hot.
• Add drained, sliced olives and salt as desired. Keep in mind anchovies will be salty. When done, drain excess oil out of escarole via colander.
• Place dough in oiled then buttered pan (I use brush). Make sure dough comes up sides of pan. Put escarole mixture inside dough. Add anchovies on top in layered pieces. Stir lightly through. Put on top layer of dough for crust. Pinch seems together tightly of top and bottom dough layers. Brush with oil on top and melted butter. Make fork holes for ventilation.
• Bake 400ºF for 15 minutes. Then reduce to 350ºF for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Brush melted butter on top crust when removed from oven.

ESCAROLE PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the anchovies and cook, stirring, until they dissolve into a paste, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir in the olives, capers and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the flavors are well combined, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the escarole to the pan, little by little as the leaves will quickly wilt and make room for more. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
• To prepare the pizza, by lightly brushing the entire pie with olive oil. Leaving a ½-inch border of dough around the edge of the pie, spread a thin layer of the escarole and grated Parmesan cheese over the dough and bake.

ESCAROLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the pizza dough. Dissolve the yeast in one cup lukewarm water and let it stand for five minutes, or until it has begun to ferment. If the mixture does not ferment, throw it away and use another package of yeast.
• If using a food processor, fit the bowl with a steel blade and put in the flour, olive oil, salt, yeast mixture and remaining water into the bowl. Process until the dough forms a ball -about 20 seconds. Place the dough on a smooth surface and knead for a couple of minutes, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky.
• If using the hand method, combine the flour and salt and place the mixture on a smooth working surface. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, olive oil and remaining water. Gradually work the flour into the liquid, using a wooded spoon. When the dough is too stiff to work with the spoon, knead until it is smooth and shiny, about eight to 10 minutes. Add more flour if the dough gets too sticky.
• Put the dough in a large floured mixing bowl. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it rise for two hours in a warm place (the back of the stove, for example) until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough, sprinkle it with flour and knead for a minute. Flour a 12-inch pizza pan and roll out the dough with a rolling pin directly onto the pan. Brush with olive oil. Let rise for an hour.
• Meanwhile, make the escarole topping. Wash the leaves and simmer them in boiling water for five minutes. Drain, squeeze out the water and chop the leaves coarsely. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and gently saute the garlic, olives, anchovies and pine nuts until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the escarole and cook uncovered stirring frequently for 10 minutes over moderate heat. Stir in the raisins and capers and season with pepper.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Bake the pizza for 10 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and spread with the escarole mixture. Season with pepper. Return to the oven and bake a further 15 minutes.