Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Calorie conscious Pizza

Homemade pizza is one of the Humble Bungalow staple meals.
It's a versatile pantry friendly meal.
The ingredients for the dough are flour, yeast, salt, oil and sugar.
I use the Expo 86 Cookbook recipe which I have posted here.

Lovely daughter and I recently enjoyed a delicious lunch in an eclectically decorated artsy bistro. The menu has creative with unusual offerings. We shared a spinach goat cheese salad which was topped with skinny deep fried onion rings and dressed with balsamic vinegar to start and that was followed by a pizzette. The pizzette was a crisp skinny crust which was sparingly topped with fresh tomatoes, basil leaves, pancetta and cheese.

I wanted to make my pizza crust thinner to elevate the flavours of the toppings rather than being over powered by the crust.
A skinny crust means that I could savour a few slender slices without too much caloric consideration!
As Martha Stewart would say, "That 's a Good Thing"



I used the standard recipe and I rolled the dough thinly.
I sprinkled the pans with cornmeal so they would not stick and reduced the baking time by 5 minutes.


Black olives, basil leaves, home grown cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese.



I think they look very like a rustic Italian pizza.

I sampled a few small slices and I think the crust could even be thinner but it is quite delicious.
I will be sharing these pizza's with my family.
The recipe made 4 instead of the usual 2!

After posting my kitchen nightmare last week about my frustrating experience making pasta
I wandered into the local Thrift Shop
and 
as is my routine 
I peruse all the wares 
just in case there is something that I could use here in the Bungalow.
A shiver went through my body 
when I spied a cookbook by Lidia Bastianich!
It was $8 and I now have all the necessary information about making pasta!

Gracious Adrienne from La Vie Quotidienne is sending me her fail proof pasta recipe.
I'm keen to try it as you use the food processor to do a lot of the work.
Thank you so much!

"Timing is Everything"

Stay tuned!

19 comments:

Sue/the view from great island said...

I've been craving homemade pizza lately, but pizza dough scares me. I'll try yours, I love the colors in your finished pizza.

Annie ~ Red Roses and Crystal said...

Thanks for helping me decide tomorrow nights dinner Hostess. In fact I'm off to bed now but feeling hungry after visiting here!
As I avoid wheat flour and yeast for health reasons I make a spelt flour dough which is super easy and tasty.
xx

Judith said...

Nearly lunch time here we will both have a slice with a large bean salad.Thanks Ida

the gardener's cottage said...

that's exactly how i make my pizza's leslie, minus the parmesan. we love super thin crusts!
last night i made mushroom. first i saute the mushrooms in a drop of olive oil and season them with s&p and fresh herbs then add them over the marinara. the olives you use sound delish too!

Pondside said...

That pizza looks delicious. I just read somewhere about caramelized onions made in a slow cooker and thought 'they'd be very good on a pizza'. I'll have to give it all a try.

Gretchen said...

Hooray for thinner crust pizza! That's our Friday night staple, and we usually make 2 or 3, depending on how well I roll out the dough, adding different toppings to each. We usually put fresh spinach on instead of basil, but that's merely because we tend to use what we have. Bravo on the new cookbook, too!

fashion and frank said...

Oh that looks so good - i cant eat dairy but i might try it without - you never know!! Thanks for your comment btw you are so right a classic coat always works - its black that washes me out -but i love it so much i just apply a bit more blusher and hope no-one notices! x

http://fashionandfrank.blogspot.com/

Susan Tiner said...

The pizza looks yummy!

I look forward to homemade pasta making, part 2. It would be great if it's really possible to make it without having an Italian grandmother.

materfamilias said...

That's inspiring! I've never gone that next step of rolling really thin, but I think it would solve some of the guilt of pizza night! Yours looks delicious, yumm!

annie@mostlovelythings said...

Your pizza looks beautifully rustic...I love the toppings. i made homemade pizza last night as well. I make the dough and my husband pounds it out...neither of us can seem to do each others job, when it comes to making pizza. I must go back and read your pasta making post...i do love to cook, but pasta is just one thing I have never tried...that and sushi.
xo annie

mette said...

Looks delicious!
I would leave the salt and sugar away from the dough though, since the cheese and olives already have it.
I don´t use salt as such in anything I make ( in the 15 minutes );.

Suburban Princess said...

Your pizza looks amazing! Such a shame my tricky tummy wont let me eat it!

LPC said...

Hostess, I try to shy away from pizza, I confess. Carbs are not my friend, so if I'm eating pizza, it's take out:(.

Lacey R said...

I will have to try your recipe, Hostess, for better results, the last time I made homemade pizza, it turned out ok...just ok...

Anonymous said...

Yum - I love pizza! My crust is naturally thin (because it's made from cauliflower) so the toppings get all the attention. My favorite non-red pizza is one topped with leeks, asparagus, yukon potatoes and a few sprinkles of shaved feta.

Adrienne Shubin said...

Your pizza looks just the way I like it - veggies and thin crust.

Great find on the Lidia book. Have you seen her pasta line about in your markets?

Mummaducka said...

I looove a thin crust pizza. The fat doughy ones don't let the flavors of the topping come through. They say too that thin crusts are lower cal, which is what I really, really like!

Semi Expat said...

Your pizza looks perfect. A thin crust - just what I like too. And good luck with the pasta - will be waiting with bated breath!! X

Anonymous said...

I can smell it now, Hostess! Friday's are a big deal in our home... Pizza Friday! The kids join in the creative fun. Something my Mom did with me as a youngster, long before homemade/gourmet pizza was "cool".