Vegetable Walnut Pizza
| Serves | 4 |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Walnuts |
Chef Molly Katzen
Cookbook author and culinary consultant
San Francisco, Calif.
Putting vegetables on pizza is a smart way to add a healthy twist to the traditional pie. There’s no set combination that must be used; the recipe is adaptable to whatever vegetables are on hand, cooked or raw. The dough is made from scratch and chopped walnuts add extra crunch to the topping.
Ingredients
Dough
1 cup wrist-temperature water
1 pkg. (2 tsp.) active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for the bowl
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (1/4 cup may be whole wheat)
Extra flour for kneading
Cornmeal
Toppings
Thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
Thinly sliced red onions
Mushroom slices
Thinly sliced bell peppers
Cauliflower florets
Broccoli florets
Canned artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
Pitted sliced olives
Ripe tomato slices
Grated Parmesan or Pecorino
Chopped walnuts
Steps
- For dough: Measure water into large bowl, sprinkle in yeast and sugar and stir to dissolve. Let stand 5 minutes, or until mixture begins to bubble.
- Stir in salt, oil and 1 cup flour. Beat for several minutes with wooden spoon. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. (Dough will be soft, but should not be sticky.)
- Turn dough out onto floured surface; knead for several minutes. Place in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
- Punch down dough and return to floured surface. Divide dough into four equal parts; knead each quarter for a few minutes. Let four balls of dough rest for about 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 500 F. Stretch each ball into a 6-inch circle. Sprinkle 2 baking sheets or cookie sheets with cornmeal; place 2 circles on each. Top each pizza with any combination of toppings, adding walnuts last so they can toast.
- Bake pizzas in lower half of oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are crispy and brown and dough is baked through. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Photograph courtesy of California Walnuts