Pizza: A Great Way to Use Many of your CSA Veggies

One of my go-to meals at home is pizza.  It's simple, filling, potentially nutritious, and versatile.  You can eat it alone or share with others, and it makes great leftovers.  If I had to choose a favorite, I'd say a good margherita pizza is my favorite -- so simple but so good.

First of all, I will readily admit that I usually cheat on dough.  There just never seems to be enough time to make it myself.  My go-to dough is Safeway's white or whole wheat pizza dough, usually $2.50 per ball but sometimes on sale for 2 for $4.  I make 1 large pizza with each dough ball.  If you want to try making your own dough, though, there are tons of recipes online.  I've listed one below from The New Vegetarian Cookbook by Deborah Madison.

I also usually use a store-bought pizza sauce or tomato paste, but there's so much room for creativity with pizzas.  You can use pesto, leftover tomato-based or cream-based sauces, pasta sauce, or even just olive oil for flavor -- just make sure the sauce isn't too watery or you'll end up with soggy pizza :(

Now for the fun part -- pizza toppings!  You can use kale, chard, squash, onions, green onions, kohlrabi, turnips, broccoli, radish, arugula, basil, sage, cilantro, shiso, oregano, and other items you have in the fridge -- mushrooms, sausage, pepperoni, chicken, ham, cheeses, and bean sprouts, to name a few.  Just be careful to remove as much moisture as possible before baking the pizza.  Leafy greens, mushrooms, onions, and other vegetables can make the pizza too watery, which can make the crust soggy and create puddles on the bottom of your oven.  Some meats and cheeses will also contribute lots of oil.  Here are some ways you can remove moisture:  use a salad spinner, cheesecloth, or food dehydrator or pre-cook mushrooms, onions, and greens then drain.

I'd love to hear about any yummy pizza topping combinations, so share 'em if you got 'em!  The photo above is a pizza I made using pizza sauce, onions, garlic, carrot tops, watermelon radish, shaved kohlrabi, and mozzarella cheese.  I think the carrot tops were a bit much, but otherwise it had good texture and decent flavor.  I think I'd try a different herb next time.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients (for eight 6" pizzas, four 10" pizzas, or two 12-14" pizzas):

2 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 to 1 cup whole wheat flour or rye flour
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

Pour 1/2 cup warm water into a mixing bowl, stir in the yeast, and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.  Add 1 cup warm water, olive oil, and salt, then beat in the whole wheat or rye flour, as much as you want to use followed by enough white flour to form a shaggy dough.  Turn it out onto the counter and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed to keep it from sticking.  For a crisp, light crust, pizza dough should be on the moist side, which means it will be slightly tacky.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl, turn it once to coat, then cover with a towel and set aside to rise until doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes.  Turn the dough onto the counter and divide into the number of pizzas you want.  Shape each piece into a ball, set on a lightly floured counter, cover with a towel, and let rise for another 20 to 30 minutes.