TIP OF THE DAY: Green-Topped Pizza For St. Patrick’s Day
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OK, a green-topped pizza is not just for St. Patrick’s Day. You can go green any time you’d like a pizza with assorted green veggies. Think green for spring; green for summer; green for National Pizza Month, October; and green for National Pizza Day in the [typically] cold, gray weather of February 9th. Depending on the green vegetable, you’ll get supplies of calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium, and vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. Do the healthy and nutritious green vegetables offset the carbs in the crust? Well…it doesn’t hurt to think so. The recipe for Brussels Sprouts & Broccolini Pizza is below. Top your pizza with a selection of these green veggies: In The Oven Toss these on top: And if you want to go super-green, tint ricotta cheese with green food color. This is an easy weeknight recipe. If you can’t find broccolini, then broccoli rabe or regular broccoli florets and their stems (yes, slice the stems like pepperoni!) do just fine. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts are both better-for-you cruciferous vegetables and the basil pesto adds antioxidant vitamins and phenolics, calcium, dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, zinc, and protein from the cheese and nuts in the pesto. You can substitute any of the vegetables in the recipe above for the broccolini and Brussels Sprouts. Ingredients 1. PREHEAT the oven to 500°F. If you’re using ready-made dough, skip to Step 4. 2. COMBINE the flour mix and yeast packet in a large mixing bowl with 1-1/4 cups lukewarm water. Stir with a fork until dough begins to form. Knead by hand for 3 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth. 3. TRANSFER to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (After this step, you can refrigerate for use within 1-3 days.) Meanwhile… 4. BRING 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepot. Add 1 tablespoon of salt. Blanch the broccolini by submerging in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Once they are bright green, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process. SAVE the boiling water. 5. BLANCH the Brussels sprouts in the same pot of boiling water, by submerging for about 2 minutes. Once they are bright green, drain and transfer them to a separate bowl of ice water. Once vegetables have cooled, drain and pat dry. 6. CUT the prepared pizza dough in half. Roll out the dough into a circle on a floured surface and spread evenly with pesto. Top with mozzarella, broccolini and Brussels sprouts. 7. BAKE for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust becomes golden. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and pepper flakes. |
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