Supreme Pizza pasta salad

On the menu tonight is Supreme Pizza Pasta Salad. Really, Kitchen Witch, another pasta salad? Yes! Indeed yes another pasta salad. Pasta salad is so versatile. Its perfect for summer time eating what better way to use summers fresh produce in its finest forms?

This pasta salad has a tomato dressing, pepperoni, red and green bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and cheese, both mozzarella pearls and asiago cheeses. Its literally a supreme pizza in a bowl. Feel free to customize the toppings to what your family enjoys.

I found fresh mozzarella pearls (very small balls, 1/4 inch!) in the deli case of my grocery store. If you can find them they are worth the cost; sweet, creamy, delicious nuggets of cheesy goodness that are perfect size for pasta salads. If you find them I highly recommend trying them.

Supreme Pizza Pasta Salad
serves 4
3/4 lb pasta, spirals
3 roma tomatoes
1 green pepper diced
1/2 red bell pepper diced
3 green onions sliced thin
1 clove garlic
1 sprig oregano minced
2 T red wine vinegar
3 T olive oil
Salt & pepper
20 pepperoni slices
6 baby portabello mushrooms
1/2 c mozzarella pearls
1/4 c fresh grated asiago or Parmesan cheese

2 T olive oil for sautee

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.

While pasta is cooking put the tomatoes and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

In a large bowl mix the oregano, vinegar, 1/2 t kosher salt & fresh ground pepper. Whisk in 3 T olive oil to make a thick dressing. Add the pureed tomatoes and garlic. Whisk to incorporate well. Reserve 3/4 c of this dressing for the pasta.

Dice bell peppers and slice green onion. In a preheated skillet add 2-3t olive oil and the peppers & onions. Cook about 5 min over medium high heat or until they are softened slightly and start to take on a bit of color. Add to the bowl with the tomato dressing. Stir.

Quarter mushrooms and sauté them in 2T olive oil until golden browned on all sides. Remove and let cool.

Once pasta is cooked drain well. Pour cooked pasta onto a sheet pan and pour the reserved tomato dressing on top, tossing to evenly coat pasta. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cool cooked mushrooms with pasta also.



Cook pepperoni in the same skillet about 2 minutes on each side or until it crisps and has rendered out a lot of the fat. Drain pepperoni, crumble once cooled.

Once pasta and mushrooms are cooled prepare salad. Add the mozzarella pearls to the pepper/tomato mixture, topping with the pasta and mushrooms. Add grated asiago cheese and toss well to coat evenly with dressing and veggies. Enjoy at room temperature for fullest flavor.



Nutrition Facts provided by Spark People Recipe Calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 622.7
Total Fat 34.1 g
Saturated Fat 9.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 18.3 g
Cholesterol 45.7 mg
Sodium 1,223.1 mg
Potassium 375.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 60.7 g
Dietary Fiber 4.5 g
Sugars 3.1 g
Protein 21.5 g

BBQ chicken pizza

It was Friday Fun Night at the Kitchen Witches house which means that I need a kid friendly meal that won't take forever to make. We did Sicilian style pizza last time, ok we've done it the past few times, and everyone loves it, kids and adults alike. I decided that we needed a change from our usual pizza routine - however not wanting to venture too far outside of our comfort zone, we went with the BBQ chicken version of pizza.

Turns out we liked this so much that I forgot to take a photo of it finished out of the oven. Just imagine the same pizza, just a little darker. The BBQ sauce on the chicken pieces got slightly singed in the oven, which really added to the BBQ flavor, nice and caramelized, just like BBQ chicken on the grill. We all really enjoyed this pizza, the left overs got eaten pretty quickly by yours truly, and I usually don't like left overs. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of this pizza as summer progresses.

BBQ chicken pizza
Makes 2 pizzas, serves about 8 people
2 chicken breasts
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1/2 onion
6 slices bacon, cut into bits
8 oz mozerella cheese
4 oz cheddar cheese

Pizza dough
4 c King Arthur bread flour
2 t yeast
4 t sugar
1.5-2 c water
2 T EVOO

Make the dough first. Please note it takes at least 2 hours for the dough to rise and develop flavor, please plan accordingly!

In a bowl mix yeast, 1 t sugar and 1/2 c warm water. Mix well and let it sit about 5 minutes, it should be very foamy after 5 minutes. If not then your yeast is dead, get fresh yeast & try again.

Mix the flour, salt and remaining sugar together in the work bowl of a stand mixer. Add proofed yeast, olive oil and 1 cup of warm water and mix with the dough hook. Slowly add in additional water until dough comes together in a ball. Knead dough 5 minutes.

Transfer kneaded dough to an oiled bowl and coat dough ball with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size in a warm area in your kitchen. Cover with a towel if its chilly or drafty.

Once dough has doubled in size punch down and divide into 2 equal dough balls. Press dough into a sheet pan, leaving a slightly raised crust on edges. Dock the dough by piercing it with the tines of a fork - this allows air to escape so you don't get large air pockets.

Cook chicken, I use the George Foreman grill for this. Once its cooked slice it thin and toss with about 1/4 c BBQ sauce.

Cook bacon until crispy. When the bacon is about half way done add the onions, allowing them to caramelize while the bacon finishes cooking. Remove both bacon & onions and drain well.



Pizza Assembly:
Equally divide the remaining BBQ sauce between the 2 crusts, spreading it evenly out to the edges.
Lay the bacon and onions on next, followed by 1/2 the cheese. Spread the BBQ chicken evenly over the 2 pizzas then top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 450 for 20 min or until pizza is browned & bubbly. Allow to cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

pretend that this is browned & bubbly as the Witch forgot to take a finished product photo. Oops!



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 458.1
Total Fat 15.8 g
Saturated Fat 6.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.3 g
Cholesterol 39.8 mg
Sodium 819.5 mg
Potassium 226.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 55.1 g
Dietary Fiber 2.1 g
Sugars 2.6 g
Protein 22.4 g

Sicilian pizza

The other day my sister and her 2 kids came over for a day of fun. Since it was a day of fun I decided that we'd have a fun lunch for everyone which around here is pizza! Oh my goodness this pizza turned out fantastic. It was so flavorful, the sauce was fresh tasting and had good 'pizza' flavor. Ben, my almost 9 year old nephew, declared that it smelled like a pizzeria in the house and that I needed to open my own pizza shop. See what a good boy he is? :)

If you all don't know this by now I'm horrible at following recpies. Even my own recipes! So this pizza recipe is different than previously posted pizza recipes. And I have to say, this one may be the best one I've made yet, though I'm pretty sure I said that last time too. The sauce was so so SO good! The crust was both chewy and crispy - what more could you ask for? I had an 8 oz block of mozzarella and a touch of Asiago on hand yesterday, when I spread the cheese on the pizza I thought "Oh crap, thats not gonna be enough cheese". I am happy to report that it was a perfect amount of cheese, just enough to hold the whole thing together, the toppings didn't slide off the slice and it was not excessively greasy, an added plus for sure!

This recipe makes 2 pizzas. I cooked one for us for lunch and froze the 2nd. In retrospect I should have doubled the recipe, cooked 2 for lunch and froze the other 2 for future use. The delicious pizza that's frozen in my freezer is taunting me, it keeps saying "Kitchen Witch, you know you want to make me for lunch again today. Kitchen Witch, pizza, its whats for dinner!" I must ignore its siren song so I can enjoy its deliciousness another day when I just don't feel like cooking!

Sicilian Pizza
makes 2 large pizzas
Crust:
4 c king arthur bread flour
2 t yeast
1.5 t kosher salt
4 t sugar
2 T EVOO
1 3/4 c warm water

Sauce:
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 onion
2 t EVOO
Kosher salt
1/2 t minced fresh oregano plus 1-2 sprigs of oregano
(can use 3/4 t dried oregano)

Toppings: (feel free to use whatever you and your family like here!)
8 oz mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
1/4 c Asiago cheese, divided
8 slices salami, divided
4 slices deli ham, divided
2/3 red bell pepper diced, divided

Make the dough:
~*~the dough will need at least 2 hours of rising time before its ready for use - please plan accordingly~*~

Bloom the yeast in 1/2 c warm water and 1 t sugar. Mix the flour, salt and 3 t sugar together in the work bowl of your stand mixer. Once the yeast has bloomed and is foamy and active add it to the flour, add the EVOO and slowly add the warm water.

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip~*~ I always hold off on the last 1/2 cup of water when making bread doughs, you may or may not need it all and its always easier to add more water rather than trying to add more flour to dry it up some.

Kneed the dough in the mixer for 10 minutes. Oil a bowl with EVOO and put the dough ball in the bowl, coating all sides of dough with EVOO. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size. Once doubled punch down and kneed again then divide into 2 equally sized balls.

Spread the dough out on a lightly greased sheet pan making the edges slightly thicker than the center. Prick crust with tines of a fork (this is called docking) so steam can release & you don't get big air bubbles.

Make the sauce:
Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the EVOO, onions and garlic. Cook slowly until garlic is golden brown and onion has started to soften.

Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and herbs. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer about 15 minutes. After 15 min press the garlic, onions and herb bunch against side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir well. Discard any large pieces of garlic, onion and the sprigs of oregano.

Assemble pizza:


Prep the salami - I use salami because that's what we had. It was delicious, it added that pepperoni kind of flavor that pizza loves. Because I like my pepperoni and salami to be crispy I pre fried it. Heat a small sautee pan over medium high heat. Cut salami into pieces (or use pepperoni) and put into the pan. Cook the meat until its crispy and has released a fair amount of grease. Drain before using on pizza. I also put the salami under the cheese so it wouldn't get burned, since is about 80% cooked already.

Spread 1/2 the sauce on each pizza.

Top with salami or pepperoni

Next is cheese

Then the ham

Finally the red bell peppers. Pretty isn't it?

Bake at 500 for 15-20 minutes or until its bubbly and browned and the crust is golden. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before slicing.



Nutrition Facts
2 pizzas per recipe, each serves 5 people
10 Servings total
Amount Per Serving
Calories 365.0
Total Fat 14.1 g
Saturated Fat 5.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.7 g
Cholesterol 26.8 mg
Sodium 741.1 mg
Potassium 296.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 43.2 g
Dietary Fiber 2.5 g
Sugars 0.1 g
Protein 16.3 g

Pizza: Crust and sauce

When looking around the Kitchen Witch headquarters, better know as my kitchen, I discovered a LOT of things that I needed to use up, and quick! Let's take a look at the stellar ingredients I had to work with, shall we?

3/4 of a bag of cherry tomatoes that are just about past their prime. Skins, kinda wrinkly. Great. 1/4 c of Feta cheese in the fridge. A package of Canadian bacon in the freezer. A can of pineapple that's been living in my pantry for far too long. 5, yes 5, smoked sundried tomatoes. Wow. What an odd combination of ingredients, and they all need to be used up TODAY! This is going to take some serious Kitchen Witchcraft to make something edible out of this mess!

I started with the tomatoes. They could be roasted, concentrating their flavor and making peeling easier. What else do I have around here? Garlic, onion, herbs, all pantry staples. Sounds like pizza fixin's if you ask me! Pizza dough, I can make that. Cheese, toppings, check. Its pizza time!

This sauce is one of the better ones I've made. The husband declared it "The best pizza you've made, ever!" Looks like past their prime tomatoes made into a pizza sauce is a hit! This sauce is not saucy like most pizzas, rather its thick and paste like, more of a tomato pesto, which packed an awesome punch of tomato flavor. Crispy crust, generous toppings, yup, it was pizza success! And best of all, I used up a LOT of ingredients that could have otherwise ended up in the trash or compost pile. Brilliant!

Crust
2 1/4 c King Arthur Bread flour
1 1/4 t yeast (1/2 packet)
2 t white sugar
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1-2 T EVOO
1 + 1T c warm water

Proof yeast in small bowl with 1/4 c warm water and 1 t sugar. While yeast proofs mix flour, sugar and salt in the work bowl of your stand mixer. Once yeast is foamy add it to the flour mix along with EVOO and water. Mix with dough hook about 8 min or until you have a smooth tight ball of dough.

Coat dough ball with a drizzle of EVOO, toss around in bowl to coat ball completely and sides of bowl as well. Cover with plastic and set aside in a warm spot to rise. Allow to rise at least 30 min, but can go longer if you have time.

Spread dough out onto a pizza pan. Prick bottom of pizza with tines of a fork, this is called docking. Docking gives the steam a place to escape so the dough doesn't rise and puff there. This will give you less air bubbles on the surface of your pizza and a nice crispy crust.

Sauce
3/4 bag cherry tomatoes, halved
5 smoked sun dried tomatoes
1/2 can diced canned tomatoes, rinsed & drained
2 cloves garlic, smashed (to be removed later)
1 t dry Italian seasoning, divided
1 T onion, fine diced
2-3 T EVOO
S&P
crushed red pepper flakes

Heat oil in a small skillet. I have this super awesome 6 in cast iron skillet that's perfect for this. Add garlic to cold oil, heat on med until garlic is just barely browned on 1st side. Flip garlic, add 3/4 t italian seasoning and 2 dashes pepper flakes & sautee until garlic is golden on 2nd side. Strain off herbs, pepper flakes & garlic, reserve garlic.

Pour hot oil over diced sun dried tomatoes. Add 1/4 t italian seasoning and 1 dash pepper flakes, 2 pinches salt & a few grinds pepper. Stir well & allow to cool while tomatoes roast.

Halve tomatoes & place cut side down on a silpat or parchment paper lined sheet pan (for easy clean up). Roast at 400* for 20 min or until the juices start to brown & the skins are bubbled & browned. Remove skins, run knife thru pulp to puree it essentially.

Drain canned tomatoes. Rinse well with water, this helps remove can flavor. Grab handful (about 1/2 the can), squeeze well to remove most juice, run knife thru as well. Add tomatoes to sundried tomato oil infusion, stir very well. Season w/ S&P as needed.


Toppings (Hawaiian style)
Canadian bacon
1/2 red bell pepper, fine dice
1 T onion, fine dice
1 can pineapple, in own juice, drained well
2 c mozzarella cheese grated
1/4 c Asiago cheese, grated or can use Parmesean
1/4 c Feta cheese


To assemble pizza spread sauce over crust evenly


Top with cheeses and toppings.

Bake a 400* for about 20-30 min or until crust is golden and cheese has melted & started to brown. Please allow to cool for about 5 minutes before you slice & devour this pizza. This rest time allows the cheese to firm up again so your topppings don't just fall off your slice.