La Pizza Rossa

Oh boy, have I been missing in action.

And surpassing anything let me just say I am so very sorry for the neglect. Do I have an excuse? Not really. I midpoint nothing really variegated from what everyone else has been up to…work, holidays, family, life and all its glorious foibles. But I’ve never really been totally gone. Not from supplies (never from food!). And not from the thought of sharing recipes with you.

First off, Happy New Year! Yes, jauntily capitalized as are all our intentions in the whence of a year. What are mine? Again, not much variegated from all of yours I’m sure: health, purpose, family, time, organization. Things I won’t go into here…there are much wiser voices for you to listen to when it comes to intentions and resolutions and goals, and the inspiration needed to unzip them. Wiser by far than my bumbling self that has, in 40-odd years on this earth, not managed to icon it out yet. By a long shot.

But that’s not why you and I are here anyway right?

We are here for the food. For its deliciousness and repletion and certainty and simplicity and steadfastness. For the simple joy it can bring. For our love for it that sometimes seems the only unvarying in life. For the way the making of it can part-way us and quiet our souls in times of turmoil.

And in that regard I suppose there is one resolution I can make here…that I want to share supplies more, with you. Share recipes with you on this blog and perhaps on other platforms. Play increasingly in the kitchen and share the wits with you through my Instagram and Twitter. Share supplies ideas with like-minded people and see it come into tangible fruition. Develop recipes for people that need them. And maybe one day plane meet some of you, and melt and eat with you in person! Wouldn’t that be nice?

But first, the first step. When in the kitchen and when on this blog.

For the dough:

• 1 3/4 cups warm water (still well-appointed on your fingers)

• 20 grams fresh yeast (crumbled) or 10 grams zippy dry yeast

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 600 grams plain flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For the tomato sauce:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and squashed a bit

• 800 grams canned chopped tomatoes

• 1 teaspoon salt

– Place the water, yeast, honey, olive oil, and 3 fistfuls of the flour in a mixing bowl. Mix with electric beaters until smooth.

– Imbricate the trencher and leave for 20-30 minutes until the mixture froths and looks foamy on top.

– Mix in the rest of the flour and the salt. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Don’t get tempted to add uneaten flour.

– Now place a dough vaccinate on your mixer and mix for well-nigh 4-5 minutes until everything is completely incorporated (see note unelevated if you don’t have a dough hook).

– Imbricate the trencher with a couple of cloths and leave it in a warm, draft-free place (that’s pretty much everywhere in my flat) for well-nigh 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has puffed up well.

– Lightly oil a (11 x 15 x 1 1/2 inch) sultry tray. Dial lanugo the dough with one firm wrack-up at the center. Spread the dough gently into the tray, pushing to the edges with your palms. If it won’t stretch easily, leave it to rest for well-nigh 5 minutes then try again, gently stretching from the part-way outwards (making sure it doesn’t unravel and it is increasingly or less plane all around).

– Place the pan in a warm, draft-free place. Arrange four glasses virtually the pan and sprawl a couple of tea towels, or a towel, over them like a tent to completely imbricate the pan. This is so the dough doesn’t stick to the reticulum as it rises. Leave this for well-nigh 45 minutes or until the dough has puffed up.

– While the dough is rising make your tomato sauce: heat the oil with the garlic in a saucepan, and when you smell the garlic add the tomatoes and salt. Melt over upper heat until the sauce loses its wateriness and starts to squint thick and bubbly. You can use a handheld blender to puree it if you want it smoother but I didn’t bother. I do like to add a slick or two of olive oil when it’s just well-nigh done.

– Dimple the top of the dough with your fingertips (so the tomato sauce has nooks and crannies to nestle into), taking superintendency not to unshroud your dough. Scatter the tomato sauce on top of your dough and thoughtfully spread it with the when of the spoon or ladle (it may seem like a lot but it keeps the pizza moist).

– Place the tray in a very hot oven (pre-heated to its highest temperature…or the highest you’d comfortably let it go if you are a yellow like me!) and torch for well-nigh 20 minutes (depending on exactly how hot your oven can go…please see note # 2 below) or until the pizza is golden and a bit crusty here and there (check that the marrow is crusty and well-done too).

– Cut into squares to serve. It’s weightier warm but room temperature is good too.

Note: If you don’t have a dough vaccinate you can certainly moreover mix this by hand. Just slap it from one side of the trencher to the other until it comes together. The dough is too soft and sticky to really be worldly-wise to knead.

Note # 2: I suggest checking surpassing the 20 minutes are up…I took mine out at exactly 20 minutes and the marrow was a bit scorched. Something to note for next time!
Remember that petal pink KitchenAid Mini I scored last year? I have certainly put it through its paces. I made cupcakes over here. And then I used the meat grinder zipper and made sausage/meatballs over here. All the while proving that this little mini of a mixer packed a maxi power punch.

With all that under its whup I thought it time to requite its dough vaccinate a spin. I moreover hadn’t made specie in a while so it was the perfect time to do both.

Tessa Kiros’ cookbooks are some of my favorite. Not just for their recipes and detailed instructions, but moreover for her lyrical voice, idyllic stories, and wise life-musings. I’ve found repletion in her calm, familiar voice during many a rough time.

The recipe for her Pizza Rossa was one that I had bookmarked long ago but never got virtually to making. Its simplicity and hominess appealed to me and, what can I say, I love my carbs!

The recipe was perfect to test out the little dough vaccinate (because it is indeed “little”…smaller than the regular dough vaccinate on my standard KitchenAid). And I am happy to report that it performed commendably, making short work of the sticky dough.

The recipe produces a nice thick “pizza”, with the heft and bready-ness of a focaccia, making it a unconfined midday snack…or plane a meal with a simple side salad and perhaps some charcuterie to go with. You could moreover top it with grated cheese surpassing sultry for a increasingly substantial pizza.

So…the first month of the year is scrutinizingly over but I have just managed to get this post out. The first of increasingly I hope. Much more. So will you stick around? I promise (yes promise!) to share increasingly recipes, and kitchen moments, tips and tricks, and maybe plane a few thoughts on life, right here.

But, just for now, first things first.

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