So this year the thing that I can't figure out to do with in my CSA box is greens. Greens like chard, beet greens, spigariello, mustard greens, kale, etc. So in the last few weeks Sarah and I have been scouring our cook books to find something - anything - to get us through this. By the way, I have a cook book problem: I like them too much and am running out of space in my kitchen to hold them all...damn.
Anyway, here is one variation on "Bread with Greens". Jesse smelled me eating something like this at lunch and had to have the recipe. No pictures this time, sorry.
Greens and Red Onion Pizza
1 Batch Pizza dough (see earlier post)
Olive oil
1 small yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
bunch of fresh herbs (I like oregano, basil, and thyme, but it's up to you)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Juice of 1 lemon
5 cups cooking greens (chard, kale, spinach, beet greens, etc.)
Olive oil
2 very small red onions or 2 large shallots, thinnly sliced into rings
A good handfull of mozzarella
1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
Extra cheese (romano, feta, brie, anything you like really)
Fresh oregano
Fresh basil
Make dough about 1 1/2 hours before hand. Pre-heat the oven to 500F about an hour before you're ready to bake the pizza. Rinse and chop the greens, do not dry.
Saute the onion in olive oil for about 10 to 15 minutes with some salt to draw out the juices. Once these have carmelized add the garlic, herbs, and pepper flakes; saute for another minute or two without browning the garlic. Add the greens all at once, cover, and steam them in their own water until slightly wilted then remove the lid and saute the greens over low heat with some lemon juice until all the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.
Roll out the dough onto a peel or pizza pan and cover libearally with olive oil. Sprinkle half of the red onion rings onto the dough then cover with the wilted greens. Cover this with mozzarella, then diced olives, a little extra cheese, and fresh oregano. Slide the whole mess into the hot oven and bake for about 7 minutes, or until the cheese just starts to bubble. Pull it out and top with strips of fresh basil. Voila!
Another variation would be to use butter in the pizza dough instead of olive oil and add an egg to enrich the dough. Then make a filling with the same wilted green saute by adding an egg and a hand full of cheese with about a tablespoon of paprika. Roll out little rounds of dough, about 6 inches across, and plop some of the filling in the middle. Fold the dough over the filling to make a turnover and pinch the edges with the tines of a fork. Brush with egg wash, poke holes in the top, and bake in a 400F over for about 15-20 minutes. This is adapted from Deborah Madison's
Vegitarian Cooking for Everyone.
