Fall is finally in the air. I’m excited for fall fashion, the beauty of nature and some restorative hikes, though I never like what the cooler weather portends. What I noticed about season changes is that renewed feeling of never knowing what’s in store for you. I had no idea last year, as the weather was changing that I had a year ahead of me in Mexico, learning a new culture, understanding privacy laws in a case at work that seems to be never-ending, discovering new people and foods. You head into a season vaguely knowing what you want out of it and what you get is often a surprise, for better or for worse. It’s sometimes amazing the lack of control you have over life. But you can guide it by consistently being yourself, by understanding what you need and want and with a little bit of drive. Then you just have to buckle down for the adventure or lack thereof and make it your own.
Being back in one place for more than two weeks, I’ve been cooking up a storm. I normally pride myself on an amazing lack of foresight when it comes to certain things, but this pizza has been calling to me. It actually requires just a bit of pre-preparation in that it takes a day for the dough to rise. Other than that, it’s pretty easy to throw together. I’ve been craving pizza and my other version of this was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten so I figured it was high time to use the dough as a blank canvas for this season. Once you’ve got the dough you can use whatever you have around to build a solid and satisfying pizza. The possibilities are endless.
We’re right in the sweet spot for end of summer produce, tomatoes, figs, arugula, but also early fall squashes, even some artichokes. It’s seriously the best time of year for eating. I opted for a combo of garlic, basil/arugula pesto, caramelized red onions, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and shredded Romano, but you can really do anything with this. I added an egg for fun. You can roll it out and make it a thin crust pizza, but I actually wanted something really thick and doughy so I went for a smaller, Vermont-shaped type deal (I believe they call this rustic) and got a nice thick base for all of the carefully prepared toppings.
I hope you’re all having a good beginning of fall. Have a wonderful weekend!
PESTO, ROASTED GARLIC, TOMATO, NO KNEAD WHITE PIZZA
INGREDIENTS:
For the Dough:
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp sea or kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp honey
For the Garlic Paste*:
- 2 bulbs garlic
- 1-2 tsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling during roasting
- pinch crushed red chili pepper
*You can make this the night before when you start the dough.
For the Toppings*:
- 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
- 2 cups arugula, finely chopped
- oil for sautéing
- 1 cup basil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup shredded romano and/or mozzarella
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 egg (optional)
*You can make any of these the night before when you start the dough.
For the Baking:
- about 1 tbsp cornmeal, or however much is needed to prepare baking surface
- 1-2 tsp olive oil, for brushing the dough before topping
DIRECTIONS:
For the Dough:
In a large bowl, sift together flour and salt, then add the yeast, water and honey and stir until it forms a sticky dough. (Proofing the yeast isn’t required in Lahey’s recipe or most adaptations of it).
Cover bowl with plastic and keep at room temperature for approximately 18 hours, or until the dough has more than doubled. ( Note: If you have rapid rise yeast, use a little less than 1/8 tsp. It will work like a charm).
For the Garlic Paste:
About an hour before the dough is ready, start by roasting the garlic. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice off the top of the garlic bulb so that each clove is exposed. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over top, rubbing each clove to make sure the oil is well-distributed, then wrap in foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. The garlic should be soft when pressed when it’s done.
Take the roasted garlic and pop out the cloves by squeezing, or with a fork. Combine garlic with one teaspoon olive oil, sprinkle of crushed red pepper and mash with a fork until it becomes a paste.
For the Caramelized Onions:
While the garlic is baking caramelize the onions. I do this by heating oil over medium-low heat in a large cast-iron skillet or saucepan, and spreading the onions in a single layer evenly across the pan. Let the onions sizzle in the pan for at least 30 minutes, but up to 50, stirring no more than once every 5-10 minutes. Once onions are soft, brown, nearly jammy, and sweet, they’re done. Drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinaigrette over top for extra flavor.
For the Pesto:
In a food processor combine arugula and basil with a little salt and olive oil and form a paste.
When the dough is ready, prepare your baking surface by sprinkling it liberally with flour or cornmeal. I also used parchment paper to avoid sticking. You can make two mini pizzas, but I made one big one with thick dough this time that’s kind of shaped like Vermont. I baked on a baking sheet. No need to preheat the baking sheet. Preheat your oven to its hottest setting, about 500-550F.
Scrape the dough out of your bowl onto a well-floured surface. Parchment paper helps. It should be quite sticky and soft. Flour the top of the dough, then divide the dough in half and form them into ball shapes. If you’re baking these one at a time, cover one ball of dough with a damp towel while you prepare the other.
Gently press, shape, and stretch the dough into a flat circle or rectangle however you like. I’m all about the “rustic” shape. I think we’re aiming for two 10 inch circle-type shapes or one larger pie.
Brush a small amount of olive oil over the dough, then spread the garlic paste in an even layer across it. Spread the pesto over it. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese over that, then your caramelized onions, tomatoes, a handful of arugula, mozzarella and an egg. Crack it right in the middle, making sure it doesn’t run, and the heat will cook it perfectly. Add more cheese as desired and put in the oven.
Bake at 500 for 10-12 minutes, or until the pizza reaches your desired brownness and crust kind of bubbles. Enjoy all of your efforts and no need to tip the delivery dude.
Yummy!
Thanks, Arthur! Hope you’re doing well.
I am sending my husband out to get us some garlic, I can’t stop thinking about roasted garlic now (he’ll might be thanking you later). Nice pizza, Amanda, with a really neat flavour combination and beautiful colours, green-white-red, of course.
Nicole
Thanks so much, Nicole. I guess I inadvertently have Mexican colors (or Italian) stuck in my head. I totally understand that garlic desire. I used to eat heads of garlic with olive oil growing up, until my mom threatened that I’d never get a boyfriend if I continued. But I still love it. That and caramelized onions together are one of the best flavor combos you can have, plus a little pesto. This really hit all of the buttons. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! xoxo
HI Amanda, now you raising the stakes with the caramelized onions, I can smell them both together. You are right, nothing more enticing than the smell of onions and garlic frying. You were a very clever child, have a great weekend as well, ours certainly will have some onions & garlic! N xx
Eggs are always fun to play with!
Did you fry it and place it on top of everything else?
Ohh a woman of my own heart. I love an egg on pizza. I’ll update the instructions to reflect that I actually placed the raw egg right on top of the raw ingredients and it cooks in the 12-15 minute broil in the oven. You just have to make sure it’s centered so it doesn’t drip off the side. I keep an eye on it so it stays kind of runny, the way I like it.
This is my kind of pizza. Don’t you just love the no-knead doughs. I really like your toppings and they all look so delicious.
I really do love the dough. It came out full of flavor, rustic and nuanced. Thanks re: the toppings. I really stuck with classics here with a base of olive oil and pesto. I just love these homemade pizzas. I had it with a glass of white and a salad and it was just perfect. Have a great weekend, Jovina.
Lovely words about the change of season and remaining true to yourself no matter what happens! I adore pizza of any kind, but I’ve never tried overnight pizza dough yet; it sounds fairly simple and looks delicious! I’ve just tried a foccacia dough using semolina and absolutely LOVED it, so soft and airy (and I topped it with caramelized red onions too!). Love the flavors here… a simple delicious pizza bianca, with an amazing garlic paste and slight bitterness from the arugula pesto. I guess it isn’t such as simple pizza after all, with all those layers of flavor!
Oh that foccacia with semolina sounds amazing. I’ve been meaning to do that for so long here, but I’m reserving it for a very special sandwich that requires lots of work. Thanks so much for your compliments on the pizza. And yes, I think the only thing you can do to keep sane is know yourself and hunker down for the ride. Have a wonderful weekend, Darya. xo
How delicious! I normally throw all the dough ingredients into my ancient (50 years+) Kenwood Chef and let the dough hook do the kneading, but I like the idea of slow no knead. Reading your description of the garlic paste makes me positively ravenous – years ago in America, I was given a little clay garlic roaster which was brilliant for making spreadable garlic – great on toast with soup in the winter. Sadly the roaster didn’t survive the trip back to Europe, though I bet I could find another one if I tried. Then, reading down, there’s the pesto and caramelized onions!
I was already planning a trip to the butcher, but I might have to go to the Italian deli first, luckily it’s almost next door 😉
My parents had that clay roaster! That’s how we used to roast it when I braved the heads of garlic with my dad an my brother. Oh nice that you have a an italian deli next door. If i were truly going to be decadent here, I’d do a simple white pizza and add a little prosciutto. This dough is excellent. I’ve never had a mixer so when I discovered the no knead method and how amazing the results are I felt justified in not springing for more devices. I know you are my kindred spirit when it comes to garlic. You should come to the garlic festival that happens every year in upstate new york near where I grew up. 🙂
That clay roaster was great, but foil works just as well. I even drop whole heads of garlic into soup sometimes, though if you do it too early they disappear and there’s no garlic to spread on toast. I would most definitely love to go to that garlic festival.
The deli next door also does pizza and I found out yesterday that Time Out rates it as the best pizza in London – wow!
We’re in Spain now Amanda so no bread making for the moment as we have a Panadero who delivers fresh bread daily to the door. But I’ve been craving pizza and yours looks so good…I’m inspired! And I too sometimes put an egg on it – the short time in very hot oven seems to perfectly cook the egg!
Oh i’m so jealous about your panadero! Too bad the US doesn’t have a culture of bread makers/deliverers. But yes I do crave pizza too when I’m away too long. In Mexico I had a pretty bad pizza, but I was desperate after weeks of Mexican food (which I love, but having grown up on variety I needed change). The egg here serves as a good timing mechanism. After around 12 mins it’s perfectly set 🙂 Enjoy espana!
Read your wonderful post this early this morning and didn’t have a moment to leave a comment, so, I back! I thought about your words a few times throughout the day. You echo my sentiment about not knowing what’s in store for you, the lack of control over your life and just being yourself. Lovely words. And your pizza is wonderful! I love putting together a pizza without a plan. I need to try your dough. I usually cheat and either buy Trader Joe’s crust or a really spendy GF crust at the food co-op, which is fantastic…buy way too expensive! I’m inspired to make pizza this weekend! Enjoy your weekend.
What a thoughtful comment, Seanna. Thank you. I’m glad you agree with me about the seasons and the unknown. I feel like the changing of seasons really does signify the unknown, more-so than the beginning of a week or a month or any other moment, even a birthday. I’m glad you like the pizza. The dough takes 5 mins to throw together, you just need the foresight (which I often lack) to know you want pizza the next day. This really is good dough, the same as it is good bread. There’s nothing like it. I’ll have to look into Trader Joe’s though for the days where I can’t plan ahead. Have a great weekend. It’s always so great to hear from you.
I’m excited for fall fashion, produce… and anything with pesto. 🙂 Looks great, Amanda.
So glad to hear it, Shanna! I’m sure you’d make an excellent version of this.
Just look at the beautiful rustic pizza…simply irresistible.
Thanks, Karen. I hope you’re enjoying your first apple season down south.