Fatty Friday Issue #8: The Joy of Pizza

Warm, crusty, cheesy, saucy: all adjectives that can be used to describe one of my favorite foods.  Yes, this issue of Fatty Friday is devoted to pizza!  

It doesn't get much better, does it, when you've got that hot slice in your hand, dripping gooey cheese, sweet 'n salty sauce, and rich, flavorful, tomato-laced olive oil down the back of your hand?  There is something about the food that evokes such joy in everyone.  "Pizza party!"  Who doesn't want in on that?!  I certainly can't ever pass up an invitation like that.

So, today, I decided to whip up a few pies in my new free time.  It was fun!

Wanna make your own?!  First step is the dough. I used Jamie Oliver's recipe from The Naked Chef Takes Off.  

Ingredients:

three packets of active yeast

1 tbsp honey

a little over 2 cups of water

6 cups of all-purpose flour

1 tbsp salt

First dissolve three packets of yeast in a little over one cup of water.  Add the honey and stir briefly.  Let the mixture dissolve for about 10 minutes.  Then add the flour and the salt and begin mixing (I used a mixer).  Slowly add the other cup of water until the dough is a gooey glob.  Now knead it like it owes you money.  Cover with a towel in a cool, dry space and let the dough sit for about an hour.  Repeat this beating/setting aside ritual two more times.  It helps the dough to get wonderfully soft and airy.  And it's a fun way to let out your frustration.  It should look like this once its ready:

While the dough is rising triumphantly, gather together your ingredients for the pies.  One special ingredient I used was ricotta.

Ricotta is relatively easy to make. I use Ricki's kit, from cheesemaking.com.  The kit comes complete with cheese cloth and a cheese thermometer, in addition to all the other materials.  All you need is a gallon of milk, a tsp of cheese salt, a tsp of citric acid (this helps to curdle the milk and separate the curds from the whey).  Let the milk and the other ingredients boil on low/medium heat until it reaches 195 degrees.

Now move the pot to a cool, dry place for about 5-10 minutes, where the curds will finish breaking free from the whey.  Once the separation is complete, pour the chunky liquid into a colander lined with cheese cloth and hang it to drain in the cheese cloth.  Try hanging it from the faucet head.  Let the cheese sack hang as long as you like, depending on how thick or thin you like your ricotta.  I prefer mine at a medium consistency, which takes about half an hour.

Finally, make the sauce.  

Ingredients:

large handful of basil

four or five garlic cloves

half an onion

pinch of salt and coarse black pepper

One 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I use Sclafani)

olive oil

1 tsp sugar

Blend the basil, garlic, onion, salt, and coarse black pepper together in a food processor.  Add the blended mixture to a bowl of the crushed tomatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil and add the sugar.  I was very anti-sugar until I learned that it helps the sauce to thicken and caramelize when cooked.  Now? Only love.

Your toppings are complete!  What now? First, set the oven to 475 degrees.  Now go find your dough, break it into four or five balls and roll out on a surface sprinkled with flour and corn meal (the corn meal helps to keep the dough from sticking to the cooking surface - either a pizza stone or a baking sheet - once in the oven).  It should look like this:

 

Next, top with sauce:

and add your ingredients, like

radicchio, arugula, mozzarella and sauce

hot sausage, basil, mozzarella, and sauce

figs, ricotta, honey, and cinnamon

Bake each pie for about 12-15 minutes in a 475 degree oven.  If you follow these instructions you should have a soft, doughy, saucy, cheesy pie in no time.  Enjoy!