Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Last Night's Dinner


Last month I saw this Jacques Pepin recipe for Pizza Margherita in Food & Wine. I had to try his trick of using flour tortillas instead of pizza dough to make quick thin-crust individual pizzas. Since I had picked lots of arugula, mint, and oregano at Quail Hill yesterday morning, I made a Greek-flavored version with some wilted greens on top. I just brushed the tortillas with some olive oil and baked them until they were puffy (this took only a couple of minutes), then spooned a lightly dressed Greek salad on top, sprinkled on some feta cheese, and returned the pizzas to the oven for a minute or two to barely wilt the greens. The arugula was warm but still fresh-tasting and the crust was perfectly, shatteringly thin. I will definitely be experimenting with toppings as different vegetables become available. Zucchini is just about ready at Quail Hill--it would be great, sliced thin, with some leeks and thyme and fresh ricotta cheese.

Summery Greek Pizza
Makes 2 personal-sized pizzas

If you don’t have a baking stone, place the tortillas on a preheated baking sheet. They won’t get quite as crisp, but will still be good.

Two 10-inch flour tortillas
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
3 cups arugula
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
3 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1. Place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.
2. Brush both sides of each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the tortillas on the baking stone, sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until they’re puffed and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toss the arugula, tomatoes, olives, mint, oregano, garlic, and lemon juice in a large bowl to coat. Scatter the salad over the tortillas and then sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven until the arugula is just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

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