Three White Pizzas

Who doesn’t love pizza! Here are three recipes for white pizza—a nice alternative to pizza with red sauce. Two of them are topped with arugula, but the toppings are quite different on each. They’re all wonderful.

FIG AND PIG

I had the Pig and Fig Flatbread at Sandy’s at Huntington Beach California. It was so tasty, I ordered it again at brunch two days later so I could figure out what was in it. Here’s my take…it’s really good!

I used Pillsbury’s THIN crust pizza crust…the kind in the refrigerated tube you smack on the counter to open. (It’s pretty good, so try it.)

Toppings:

- A few tablespoons of fig jam

- 4 oz shredded reduced fat mozzarella

- 4 oz crumbled blue cheese

- 1/2 cup red onion—1/2 inch dice

- Approx 3/4 cup or so prosciutto that has been crisped in a frying pan with a little oil. Or use diced pancetta than has been fried in a frying pan until it is a little crisp. Don't cook the meat too long.

Prebake shell at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

Add toppings. Spoon about a scant tsp of the jam at various intervals on the crust—about every 1-1/2 inches apart. Sprinkle with the cheeses, then the red onion and meat.

Bake 6 to 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Meanwhile, rinse some arugula with cold water. Spin dry, then add dressing sparingly.

Serve flatbread with a generous handful of the arugula salad on each slice.

Salad dressing: 

2 tsp. Dijon

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

2-1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2  tsp salt

1/4  tsp freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together in small bowl.

WHITE PIZZA WITH ARUGULA 

Ina Garten makes her own crust, but I don’t spend the time. I like the Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain by Pillsbury, or Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough available in the refrigerator section of the store.  I also like Boboli, I’ve also changed a few other things.

For the topping:

2 cups grated Italian fontina cheese (8 ounces)

1 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

4 ounces container of goat cheese crumbles

For the vinaigrette:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces baby arugula

For the garlic oil:

Place 1/2 cup of olive oil, 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced, 5 springs fresh thyme and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. (Be sure your oven is clean)

Stretch the dough on the pan. Brush dough with garlic oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt (to taste) and pepper. Sprinkle evenly with the cheeses. Drizzle each pizza with garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.

Meanwhile, whisk together 1/2 cup of olive oil, the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the greens: When the pizza is done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza.

GOAT CHEESE AND PEPPER PIZZA

This recipe is originally from California Pizza Kitchen, although I made a number of changes.

1 prepackaged pizza crust dough…I like Pillsbury’s THIN crust pizza crust in the tube because the bottom gets crispy.

Olive oil*

1-1/2 - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2-3 plum tomatoes sliced thin (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch)

2-3 peppers depending on size (any combination of red, yellow, or green) (or use one jar of roasted red peppers)

24 pieces of red onion (2 inches x 1/4 inch)

2 oz mild goat cheese

Optional: use Ina Gartens’s Garlic Olive Oil:  Heat ½ cup olive oil, 4 thinly sliced cloves of garlic, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Make sure garlic doesn’t burn. Set aside.

--Cook bacon until crisp. Crumble.

--Slice peppers and cook in large frying pan over medium heat in a little olive oil until peppers are browned on edges and are a little soft. (Or substitute one jar of roasted red peppers, sliced.)

--Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

--Stretch dough in pizza pan. Brush with olive oil.

--  Spread mozzarella over surface. Sprinkle crumble bacon over cheese.

--Place peppers over cheese. Then onions. Place tomato slices next, but do not overlap.

--Separate goat cheese into bite size pieces and place over tomatoes. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper but do not add salt.

If you have fresh basil, chop some and sprinkle on top. But not critical.

Bake about 9 to 10 minutes or until bubbly.

Caesar-Roasted Swordfish and Pear Arugula Salad

Caesar-Roasted Swordish

From Ina Garten, How Easy Is That?

6 servings

I love Ina, but she uses way too much salt for my taste. Reduce the amount she calls for. The mustard, anchovy paste and capers provide plenty of saltiness.

This recipe calls for swordfish, but testers on her Food Network site used salmon and other fish with success)

Ingredients

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 cup good mayonnaise

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds swordfish, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, cut into 6 portions

1/2 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (4 scallions)

2 tablespoons good olive oil

3 tablespoons drained capers (I used more) Dry on paper towels. If the capers are wet, the oil will pop.)  

Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean.) Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

For the Caesar sauce, place the garlic, parsley, anchovy paste, and mustard in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt (I suggest less salt), and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and pulse to make a smooth sauce.

Place the fish on the pan and sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper. (Use less salt.) Set aside one third of the sauce to serve with the cooked fish. Spread the fish on one side with half the remaining sauce, turn the fish, and spread the remaining sauce on the second side. Sprinkle with the scallions and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Roast the fish for 10 to 12 minutes, until the center is just barely cooked. Cover the fish with aluminum foil and allow to rest on the pan for 10 minutes. (It will continue to cook under the foil, so don't let it get too dry before you let it rest.)

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saute pan until very hot, add the capers, and cook for 30 to 60 seconds, until they start to pop and are a little crisp. Serve the fish hot with the lemon wedges, frizzled capers, and the reserved Caesar sauce.

(NOTE: Nora Ephron once wrote, if anything tastes good with capers, it surely will taste better without. I disagree. The crispy capers here are really good. When they are fried, they take on a totally different texture. They are a great garnish for this dish. Give them a try.)

Pear Salad

From Harry and David

Dressing

¼ c wine vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T honey

½ t sea salt

1 t freshly ground pepper

¾ c walnut oil

Whisk together first 5 ingredients. Gradually whisk in walnut oil.

Salad

1 head butter or other lettuce (we used arugula), washed and dried

2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced

2/3 c blue cheese

2/3 c candied walnuts

Tear lettuce into bite size pieces. Arrange on chilled plates. Fan pear slices over lettuce. Crumble bleu cheese on top. Drizzle dressing generously and top with nuts.

Serves 4