Yogadad World

It's another pizza Saturday night. Shannon was off at Michigan HIstory Day so I was on my own planning dinner for tonight. Figuring that she'd be hungry when she got home, I thought that something quick, filling, and tasty would be the best choice. Pizza seemed to fit the bill.

Earlier this week I was in Chicago for a conference and one night I went out with pizza with some wild and crazy Canadians from Vancouver. We hit Lou Malnati's on North Wells in the River North neighborhood. It was a little hike from the hotel but good after a long day of sitting. The pizza there is excellent. I shared a "Lou" special with Anita. It was deep dish with spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella, romano, and cheddar cheese. A better pizza is hard to find. Unless you make it yourself.

Tonight's pie was vegetarian. I began with the best pizza dough recipe ever. I've written about it before and once again the dough was fantastic. This time, I did not split the dough as Lahey recommends in his book. Instead I rolled out the entire recipe into one pan. I think the pizza is better with a bit more dough. It's chewier but still crisp, not at all spongy. If you like crispy crust, this will still work for you. I left it in the oven until the edges were golder brown, which left the center still well down but with enough air in the dough to give it some lift. As I said, I love this recipe.

The recipe I used also came from Lahey's book. But I embellished a bit. Instead of laying the zucchini/cheese mixture right on the dough, I layered on a little bit of pesto. And on top of the zucchini, I added a few kalamata olives. Once plated, I sprinkled on a little parmesan and red pepper flakes.

Definitely up to Lou's standards.

We had a good Davinci chianti with the pizza. The wine nicely complemented the pizza.

Ingredients
Pizza dough
3 3/4 c (300 grams) Bread or all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp (10 grams) Instant or active dry yeast
3/4 tsp (5 grams) table salt
3/4 tsp plus a pinch (3 grams) sugar
1 1/2 c (300 grams) room temp water (about 72 degrees)
extra virgin olive oil for pan

Toppings
2 1/2 lbs zucchini, grated
1 1/2 tsp table salt
2 c Gruyere or high-quality Swiss cheese
2 1/2 Tb Homemade bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a rack in the center.

Use a food processor or box grater to grate the zucchini. In a medium bowl, toss together the zucchini and salt. Let stand for 15 - 20 minutes, until the zucchini has wilted and released its water.

Drain the zucchini in a colander, then squeeze out as much water as possible. In a medium bowl, toss together the zucchini and cheese, breaking up any clumps of zucchini, until well mixed.

Spread the zucchini mixture over the dough, going all the way to the edges of the pan; put a bit more of the topping around the edges of the pie, as the outside tends to cook and brown more quickly. Sprinkle evenly with the bread crumbs.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until the topping is starting to turn golden brown and the crust is pulling awy from the sides of the pan. Serve the pizza hot or at room temperature.