Garden pizza in pictures

Fresh from the garden.

Pat the dough out on a greased pan.

Slice onions, dice garlic....don't worry, the beets aren't for the pizza!

Sauteed onions and garlic go on first.  Or last, if you prefer.

Snipped basil and parsley.

Slice any kind of tomatoes you might have.

 

Run the slices through the salad spinner to remove excess water and some of the seeds.

Generous sprinkle of home made feta....Romano or parmesan will do.

Cover with tomato slices.

Cover with mozzarella cheese.  Generously, of course.

Add tasty toppings such as chicken....oops, wrong picture.....

We used home made sausage.  Yum.

Seriously, here is the recipe, such as it is, to make a very generous meal for two people:

Crust (all measurements are approximate.  This is very, very forgiving.)

 

Put a half cup of warm water in a large mixing bowl.  Add a good pinch of sugar or honey and a rounded half tablespoon of yeast.  Allow the yeast to rehydrate on top of the water for a few minutes.  Then stir in 1/4 teaspoon of salt, a half cup of wheat flour, and three spoonfuls of lard (maybe 3/8 cup?).  Gradually add more flour and stir it in until you have a dough that you can knead.   Work in more flour, adding a big spoonful at a time and knead it thoroughly for 5 minutes or so.  Cover and let rise for an hour or so.

 

Grease a cookie sheet generously with more lard.  Pat the dough into a rough oval.  Don't obsess.  This is supposed to be a rustic pizza, and this dough is very flaky and tender and fragile.  This will be eat with a fork pizza.

 

Top the dough as shown in the above pizza.  More garlic and onions would be good, as would even more basil.  Add some oregano if you have it.  Red pepper flakes would be good if you like them on pizza.

UPDATE:  I now use a LOT more onions and garlic, and simply layer whole basil leaves generously on the pizza.  I just remove the bigger stems.

 

You can use shredded cheese.  The block mozzarella is much cheaper and I enjoy the look of the cut slices, but it all melts anyways.  I also like sneaking a few hunks of cheese while I'm cutting it.  Quality checks.  I must also keep my strength up.

 

Add whatever toppings you normally enjoy on pizza.  

 

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, checking it at 25 minutes just in case.  Serve with a fork and knife, as this is far too messy to eat with your hands.  Serve plenty of napkins as well.  Don't expect leftovers!

While the oven is on, throw in a black bean chocolate cake or a white bean spice cake to make the most use of that oven heat.  

Enjoy both guilt-free!