Last night, the ever-powerful craving for pizza struck on my drive home from work. Usually, this means a trip to Pizzeria Lola (dangerous proximity to our house). However, I knew that I had most of the ingredients already in our fridge, I was just lacking crust. One of my favorite things to do is make sourdough crust,
but I just couldn't wait for the dough to rise so I stopped into Whole Foods and picked up a package of their whole wheat, organic crusts (2 per package).
Pepperoni will be my forever-favorite pizza topping. We also had some fresh mozzarella in the fridge, but shredded mozzarella (or your favorite cheese) would work as well. The best part about this pizza? It's really easy.
To get started, preheat your oven to 475. Now, let's talk assembly:
Spread your marinara (or tomato sauce of choice) in a thin layer over the crust. This may be the point where your partner exclaims that your spreading skills are sub par and says, "let's call in the pizza master." To this, you should respond by hiding the spoon behind your back and doing a taunting victory dance. You could also ask them to do the dishes, gather other ingredients, and dj songs for the rest of the pizza-escapades. Oh, that's just our kitchen? Right...back to pizza:
Top the crust with fresh mozzarella.
And then with pepperoni.
Okay, this is where your pizza flair comes in. I like to sprinkle parmesan cheese, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, and red chili flakes over the top.
Why not take a closer look at all that deliciousness?
When your oven has come to temperature, bake your pizza until it has reached your desired level of done-ness. This will depend on the type of crust you are using and the amount of toppings on your pizza. I look for crispy crust edges and bubbling cheese that has just started to brown. Ours took about 12 minutes.
You could certainly call it good at this stage and just dig in, but we were looking for a little more greenery in our lives last night. Grab a generous handful of baby kale and spread it in a thin layer over the fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza. The heat from the pizza will begin to cook the kale. Drizzle the kale with extra virgin olive oil and top with black pepper.
And, just like that...you're done! Slice, serve and enjoy.
Last night in our house, that looked like....carry the pizza board to the table and devour the pizza in minutes. It also included me capturing T mid-slice. Retribution for his sass throughout the pizza-making process!
Happy pizza making,
-The Delicious Dabbler
