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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Tuscan Pizza Bowl

Last night's dinner was pretty exciting.  I've been wanting to try this pizza bowl recipe for a while, and finally the ingredients in my refrigerator aligned with the recipe to make for a quick dinner that the boys were excited to help me make during the girls' nap time.  Well, I should rephrase.  The boys were thrilled at the idea of making a pizza bowl.  (Who wouldn't be?!)  However, when I mentioned it was going to be filled with veggies and no meat, they were not at all pleased.

Yet....there is some magic in having children help you prepare a meal.  Slowly, there is a transfer of ownership.  By the end of our 15 minute preparation time, Caleb had changed his tune from "No!  Not veggie pizza....I can't stand veggie pizza!"......to "Oh boy! This looks delicious!  I can't wait until it gets out of the oven!"  (I am not making this up!)  The boys ate half the pizza themselves.  Next time, I will make two!

Ingredients: 
Herb Pizza Dough (For instant gratification, Trader Joes has a great herb dough, ready to roll out. Demarle kitchens also has a good dough mix you can keep in the pantry, or lastly - make your own!); 1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
6 stalks asparagus, chopped; 
1 each red and yellow bell peppers, chopped; 
1/2 bunch of green onions (6-8), chopped; 
1 Cup baby spinach; 
1/2 Cup fresh basil leaves, chopped; 
2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese;
1/2 tsp sea salt (I use Sel Gris);
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese;
(You could experiment with herb blends too)
Balsamic Vinegar to drizzle
(I love experimenting with flavored balsamics...tonight - Mediterranean & Fig)


Place dough on Roul’Pat or other rolling surface.  
(Note:  I do not use extra flour with the Roul'Pat, for it is completely non-stick....but if needed, add flour to your work area.  Also, I find that a rolling pin well oiled from many uses also doesn't require much additional flour, especially with an oily dough such as pizza.  I used none.)




 Put your children to work! :-) Roll out the circle large enough so that it will drape over your bowl.  If it pools at the bottom like ours did, just roll the edges for a nice thick edge.




Measure it out to make sure it's exactly the right size! (Just kidding - Caleb, like me, prefers precision!)




 Place mold upside down on perforated baking sheet. I used the Demarle Tart Mold. 
Transfer the dough to lay over the inverted "bowl".  
(Note: With the Roul'Pat, it peels right off.  This is how I do pie crust too.)



Trim or roll edges.


Bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes until crust is beginning to brown. 


While dough is baking, chop veggies and mix with salt and 1-2 T extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.


Flip the baked dough over, and peel out or remove bowl form. 
Place baked dough directly onto perforated baking sheet.


Brush inside of bowl with approximately 1 T extra virgin olive oil using a pastry brush.


Dump veggies into pizza crust bowl.


Mix cheeses and herbs together, then sprinkle cheese over the veggies. 
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.


Return pizza to oven for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.


Applaud the proud little chefs!


 Dinner is served. Enjoy!
(And you just might have enough veggies in this one, you can skip making a salad!)


Recipe adapted from Demarle at Home 2011/2012 Catalog.

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