labor-intensive-but-totally-worth-it polenta pizza

warning: this is not a weeknight kind of pizza. this is a "lazy sunday afternoon and i have some time to kill and some laundry to do and some reruns of parenthood to watch" kind of pizza. this is a "i'm having friends over and want to impress them with how creative and unconventional i can be in the kitchen but i'm also afraid to take too too much of a risk" kind of pizza. this is the kind of pizza that people ooo and aaah at, if only because it never occurred to them before that you could make a pizza dough out a polenta. (and have it taste good!). this is a pizza you should make time for next weekend. neglect your laundry all week, clear an afternoon, and get ready to experience a whole new kind of pizza (crust). 

you'll need about 3 hours altogether to make this pizza, but it's not like slaving over a risotto for 3 hours. here are the steps: 

1. make the polenta. 
2. refrigerate the polenta. 
3. bake the polenta. 
4. add pizza toppings and bake some more. 

the crust comes out deliciously herby and crunchy, and depending on how thick or thin you like your crust, you can save some of the leftover polenta and make this incredible polenta casserole later in the week.  

polenta pizza

from terry walter’s clean start

for the crust:

3 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

11/4 cups polenta

for the topping:

1-2 cups tomato sauce (fresh or canned)

2 zucchinis, sliced

1 red pepper, diced

1 orange pepper, diced

1 bunch kale, washed and cut into thin strips

1 cup shredded cheese (your choice!)

start by making the crust. over high heat, bring stock to boil. reduce heat to medium and add salt, basil, oregano, parsley, pepper and olive oil. whisking continuously, pour in polenta and continue whisking for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and thick. pour into a 11 x 7 baking pan and spread evenly over bottom of each pan. you may have some polenta leftover, depending on how thick you like your curst. cool slightly and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.

preheat oven to 350°F and place baking sheet on middle rack. remove polenta from refrigerator, sprinkle pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal, transfer polenta to stone or baking sheet and bake 40 minutes. remove from oven and set aside.



prepare your toppings. sauté zucchinis and peppers in some olive oil for a few minutes. add in the kale. season with salt and pepper to taste.

assemble your pizza by spreading a thin layer of tomato sauce on top of the polenta, leaving a 1/2 inch edge. spread the vegetables across evenly. top with cheese.

bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melty. let cool 5 minutes, then slice and dig in.

the easiest apple sauce.

i don't have much to say about this apple sauce, other than that you should make a lot of it immediately. it uses five ingredients, has a start-to-finish cooking time of a half hour, is ridiculously tasty, and lasts a week in the fridge. need i say more?ok, one more thing: this apple sauce is of the chunkier variety, though i'm sure you could puree it with a hand blender for a creamier version. personal experience says it goes well with oatmeal, yogurt & granola, and this porridge.

chunky apple sauce

adapted from cookie and kate

6 pink lady apples

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

a big drizzle of honey (optional)

peel, core and chop the apples into 1 inch chunks. in a dutch oven or big pot, combine the apple chunks, maple syrup, cinnamon, lemon juice, and salt. cover and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. apples should be softened up.

now uncover the pot and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft but still have some texture. when the apples are the texture you want, turn up the heat to high for a few minutes and let some of the extra juices absorb. drizzle in some honey or maple syrup.

remove from heat and add more cinnamon to taste. serve warm or chilled. let cool to room temperature before canning.

gobi matar, from memory.

this holiday season, we took a big trip to visit my father's extended family in new delhi. how to sum it up? it was a long, enjoyable, relaxing, exhausting, confusing, inspiring, and culinarily unparalleled journey. two weeks of vegetable curries, paneer scrambles, green red and black dals, rice and naans = a small, yet flavorful slice of heaven.

my mom and i watched in awe of three dishes being prepared: mung dal (green lentils), saag paneer (spinach with cheese), and gobi matar (cauliflower with peas). once we'd returned to the states and made a valient, albeit ineffective effort to speedily conquer our jetlag, we tried our hand at the latter two recipes.

the thing is: we hadn't taken any notes while we'd watched the dishes being made the first time. so when we went to replicate, we cooked from memory and from feel, tossing spices in and tasting continuously as we went. and somehow, we managed - according to my father, with his refined palette - to make something pretty frickin' tasty.

today's recipe is the cauliflower with peas one, best served with a side of dal, basmati rice, and a hot roti. i cannot recommend this dish enough, especially for anyone inexperienced or unfamiliar with traditional indian spices. it only takes about 30 minutes total, from chopping to sauteing to devouring. what more, it uses just 3 spices (cumin seed, coriander, and tumeric), and it's super flavorful without being spicy. 

it's also sure to impress any dining partner.

gobi matar

adapted from memory

serves 4

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets

2 cups peas, defrosted

2 tablespoons oil (olive, sesame, or whatever you like)

1 small red onion, sliced or minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 – 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 – 1 1/2 teaspoon coriander

1 – 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)

freshly ground pepper

fill a large pot with water, salt, and bring to a boil. add cauliflower florets and boil for 3-4 minutes. the florets should be partially cooked but not completely done. remove and put in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. frain in colander and set aside.

heat oil in a pan over medium high. toss in a cumin seed – if the seed starts to wiggle around, the oil is hot enough. lower heat to medium, add all of the cumin, and stir for 30 seconds. add onion, garlic, and ginger. sauté for a few minutes. add 1 tsp each of turmeric, coriander, and salt, and sauté for another 2 minutes.

add in cauliflower and gently toss to coat. cauliflower should be a yellow-ish color from being coated in the oil and spices. at this point, i added in another 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, coriander, and salt and tossed.

cover the pan and lower to medium-low heat. cook for another 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. add peas and toss to coat. turn heat to low, cover pan, and cook for another 3-4 minutes. cauliflower should soft but not mushy. grind some fresh pepper over it, and salt to taste.

new year, new muffins.

my new year's resolution for 2012 was to cook with unfamiliar ingredients. one of the ingredients i tried and got addicted to was coconut oil. i bought my mom a jar a few months ago, and over the holidays she asked me how and when to cook with it. now, i'm no expert on all of its various uses, but i really enjoy it as butter substitute in baking. it's far from a neutral oil, so you have to be craving that coconut-y flavor. fortunately, if you're anything like me, the more you use it, the more you'll want it. in everything.

i decided to try my hand at these coconut chocolate chip muffins yesterday to show my mom the joys of baking with coconut oil. they turned out fantastically moist and flavorful. i used equal parts coconut flour and almond meal, which makes them gluten free. i replaced the eggs with bananas, which makes them vegan. and i threw in a generous amount of chocolate chips and a light dusting on turbinado sugar at the end, making them delicious and slightly decadent. i won't tell you how and when to eat your muffins, but i will say that in addition to being a perfect morning coffee accompaniment, they also wouldn't be bad crumbled over some vanilla ice cream. hypothetically, of course.

coconut chocolate chip muffins
adapted from comfy belly

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup almond meal

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 super ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup chocolate chips

turbinado sugar, for dusting

preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. combine the dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. combine wet ingredients in a small bowl. stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

grease a muffin tin and fill each hole about 2/3 of the way full with batter. bake about 10 minutes, then sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top. bake another 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. remove, let cool, and enjoy!