Paneer Pizza

In my home, our work schedules don't allow too much time to hit the gym. So we try to do our best to eat home cooked meals made from fresh organic produce to stay healthy. I am tempted to call ourselves locovores, as we make it a point to buy veggies from our local farmer's market every summer. I also consider myself a kitchen hoarder for I seem to spend most of my shopping budget buying serveware, bakeware and kitchen electronics! My favorite amongst all my kitchen gadgets is the Cuisinart 14 Cup Elite Food Processor that helps me chop all my veggies within seconds.

 

Anyway, with Sandy keeping most of us indoors for a few days - I thought to take on Project Pizza. For some reason I had thought it to be a difficult dish to do from scratch and I managed to break that myth last Sunday. It was super simple to put together and made for a mess-free hearty meal that tasted even better with a glass of wine!






For the Dough: 1 large 11'' pizza

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
Quick Rise Yeast 1 + 1/2 tbsp
Olive Oil 1/4 Cup
Warm Milk 3/4 Cup
Salt 1 tbsp
Sugar 1/2 tbsp
Black Pepper 1 tbsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tbsp

Sauce: Bottled Marinara Sauce
Topping: Chopped veggies of your choice

• Heat the oven to 200F for a few mins and then turn the oven off.
• Meanwhile, in a big bowl, add yeast and sugar to the warm milk and let it froth. Takes about 8-10 mins. Add salt and olive oil to the frothed mix.
• Now add in the remaining ingredients (Flour, Pepper, Garam Masala) and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides and is evenly mixed.
• Cover the bowl with a wet kitchen towel or a damp paper towel and place it inside the pre-heated (turned off) oven for 1.5 - 2 hours until the dough doubles in size.
• Once this is done, take the dough and punch it to release the air. Transfer to a parchment paper spread on a flat surface and use a rolling pin (or your hands) to spread into a flat circle as in the picture below

• Preheat the oven to 375 F
• Sift some flour on a Pizza Stone / Pizza Pan / Cast Iron Pan and transfer the pizza base onto the surface.

• Now brush a lil olive oil on the top side of the pizza dough, and evenly spread Marinara sauce leaving 1/2 '' around the edges

• Layer with some shredded mozarella, arrange chopped veggies on top and bake for 20-25 mins, constantly checking from around minute 20. Turn the stove off once the corners begin to brown and keep inside the oven for the last 5 mins.

I used a Cast Iron Pan (a wedding gift from my friend GB) and the pizza came out crispy along the sides and chewy in the center... tasted more like a deep dish pizza and we loved it! One of the advantages of using a Cast Iron Pan is that the food gets heated evenly and doesn't leave burnt bases or uncooked centers. Some recommend using the back of the pan as opposed to the regular side, and some others recommend heating the base of the pan for a while before placing in the oven. I did neither, and my pizza came out perfectly fine!

Pizza is sure to become a regular in our home, specially when I can make it Indian by using some paneer cubes as a topping!