Homemade Pizza 2 Ways

What is there to say about pizza that hasn’t already been said? It’s the best comfort food, social meal and it’s so good eaten cold the next day (if you’re lucky enough to have any leftovers!). I began making pizza in earnest a few years ago because I love to experiment with new flavor combinations but I’ve always hated taking the time to make my own crust. Last week when I was at the store buying groceries I ran in to my friend Jess who not only filled me in on the secrets of pizza dough making, but also guided me to the secret stash of fresh homemade dough that Whole Foods sells! And Pizza night was made!

Like my approach to quiche, pizza is really all about what you feel like making. There really isn’t a wrong way to do it! Sometimes I feel like doing an all-red-ingredient pie or an all-green pie, or a salad pie, or a pie based on another dish like salad niçoise. So here are my own recipes for two excellent pies and pizza sauce, plus suggestions for a few other delicious ‘za’s!

What You’ll Need For Red Sauce
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• A few sprigs of parsely, sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano, finely chopped
• Optional: a fresh diced tomato
• A pinch of kosher salt and lots of fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow it to settle while you prepare your ingredients.

What You’ll Need For Pizza 1: Red sauce
• 1/2 of a 1 pound pizza dough-ball
• A bit of cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the pans
• The red sauce described above
• 1/4 of a Salami or Spanish Chorizo, sliced very thin
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced into spears
• 1/4 yellow pepper, sliced into spears
• 1 cup smoked gouda cheese, shredded
• Lots of fresh ground pepper and red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

What You’ll Need For Pizza 2: Olive oil-garlic sauce
• 1/2 of a 1 pound pizza dough-ball
• A bit of cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the pans
• A good drizzle of fresh olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 1/2 cups spinach
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 small tomato, diced
• A bit of red onion, sliced very thin, as much as you like
• 1/2 bar (about 3 tablespoons) fresh goat cheese
• Lots of fresh ground pepper

Makes 2 medium pies

Preheat your oven to 400° and separate a 1 pound dough ball into 2 equal pieces. Sprinkle 2 pans or pizza stones with cornmeal and begin shaping the dough into disks. When the dough is less a ball and more of a frisbee shape, play around with tossing it in the air (super fun and actually really easy!), letting gravity stretch the dough out evenly. On the pan use your knuckles to spread the dough out wider. When the dough has spread into a 10 in circle and is pretty evenly thin, drizzle olive oil along the crust and sprinkle salt on the outside edges. For the red pie, spoon sauce evenly over the dough. Layer the peppers on, then the salami. Cover with cheese and lots of black pepper and red pepper flakes. After baking sprinkle parsley over the pie.

For the oil-based pie, drizzle olive oil and minced garlic over the whole pie, then add the spinach followed by the tomatoes and onion. Spoon bite-sized chunks of goat cheese evenly over the pie and sprinkle the pine nuts on top, then finish with a grind of pepper.

Bake the pies for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and cut it up while it’s super hot. Enjoy!

More delicious ingredient combinations
• Garlic olive oil sauce, green olives, artichokes, mozzarella
• Red sauce, roasted corn, red peppers, spanish chorizo, mozzarella
• Garlic olive oil sauce, arugula, portobello mushrooms, truffle oil
• Pesto sauce, grilled chicken, smoked gouda
• Red sauce, sausage, onion, roasted tomatoes
• Traditional Margherita: pesto sauce, tomato slices and fresh buffalo mozzarella topped with basil and oregano