In 1953, Dean Martin sang : “when the moon hits your eye like a big(ga)-pizza-pie, that’s amore . . .”

I don’t know if Mr. Dean Martin was talking about this kind of pizza-pie or not. But I do know that I don’t often write the funniest or most clever stories. Those usually require a particularly well-developed “mean-streak” to be funny & interesting and when or if I do, it most often has something to do with an event that has upset me, further away from and beyond my own kitchen, but those events seem to be continuous and quite regular now, whether locally, nationally, internationally or globally. We are living in difficult/interesting times.

I’m generally in a good mood and rarely complaining nor brooding (at least not outwardly, we all have our problems, right ?)

An easy smile, lots of winking, humming, whistling & giggling. People like are me are often referred to as “simple” or just “nice”. Not because we’re feeble-minded but because we lack that angry-spiteful-assassin’s edge that people love (or love to hate) ...

Anyways, I hum & sing when I cook, I dance & wiggle when I eat … Yup, that’s me, Mr. SIMPLE !

PIZZA-PIE as opposed to normal pizza is simpler, thicker, breadier, less fussy to make (especially with the scorching hot weather we’ve been having here in Paris) and with fewer toppings competing with one another.

My version is cheese-less and meat-less, because it just so happens that we used to eat this pizza-pie all the time as little kids and teenagers at parties and we called it “square tomato pizza”.

It is also cheese-free and meat-free because there are some French folks who are vegetarians and/or who can’t stand cheese, and yes, they do exist ! Why would I want to judge them ? Minorities have rights too you know. I just made these versions as you see them and served them with some side dishes of torn balls of mozzarella cheese, slices of parmesan and Italian cured ham (for those who do like meats & cheeses).

The idea is simple, a flatter bread dough or thick pizza dough base and then similar sauces that differ only in the main ingredient which are also the main toppings : a tomato sauce for the sliced tomato toppings, a green pepper & jalapeno sauce for sliced green pepper & jalapeno pepper toppings (you can make up your own variations too).

DO AS YOU PLEASE and PLEASE OTHERS TOO.

SING & DANCE, WIGGLE & GIGGLE . . . :)

red tomato pizza-pie & green pepper pizza-pie

25.06.2017

4 each

ingredients

dough (for each version) :

125 grams (1 cup) bread flour
125 grams (1 cup) high-gluten (11 or 12% protein) all-purpose flour
180 ml (¾ cup) water
7,5 ml (½ tbsp) olive oil
5 grams (1 tsp) salt
2,5 grams (¾ tsp) dried instant yeast
2 grams (½ tsp) sugar
15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil to grease the pan/baking sheet

tomato sauce :

750 grams fresh tomatoes (6 medium)
50 grams onion (1 small)
10 grams garlic (2 cloves)
1 anchovy
1 bay leaf
45 ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried ‘herbes de provence’ mix
¼ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
3 stalks fresh parsley
3 stalks fresh basil

green sweet & hot pepper sauce :

725 grams sweet green bell or banana peppers (3 large or 6 medium)
25 grams jalapeno pepper (1 or more for a hotter version)
50 grams onion (1 medium)
10 grams garlic (2 cloves)
1 anchovy
1 bay leaf
45 ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried ‘herbes de provence’ mix
¼ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
3 stalks fresh parsley
3 stalks fresh coriander

garnish for tomato pizza pie :

250 grams cherry tomato slices
+ a drizzle of olive oil
+ some fresh herbs

garnish for green pepper pizza pie :

125 grams green pepper slices + 25 grams jalapeno slices
+ a drizzle of olive oil
+ some fresh herbs

optional : after removing pizza-pies from the oven, sprinkle with grated parmesan or pecorino cheese on top and/or torn mozzarella and/or thinly sliced italian cured ham

instructions

prepare the dough by combining the flours and salt in one bowl and the warm water, olive oil, sugar and dried yeast in another bowl, combine and mix together until shaggy, transfer to an oiled bowl and cover and let rise for 1-2 hours in a warm space until almost doubled in size or in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours (or overnight) for the next day
grease your baking tray with olive oil and transfer the dough from the bowl into the baking tray, let it slowly spread out or use your hands to gently spread it out more, then cover and let rise at room temperature for another 3-4 hours

note : if making both pizza-pies on the same day, make 2 separate dough mixtures; each one of my baking trays measured 32cm x 24cm x 3cm …

preheat oven to 210°C
place the vegetables (whole tomatoes, onion and garlic or whole green peppers, jalapeno pepper, onion and garlic) on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, drizzle with some olive and sprinkle with some salt and roast for 20-25 minutes until browned
remove skins & seeds from the vegetables, pulse in a food processor until smooth and transfer to a casserole with all the other sauce ingredients and let simmer for 30 minutes at medium heat until fragrant, remove the fresh herb stalks and bay leaf and let cool to room temperature

note : you’ll end up with approximately 350 grams (almost 1½ cups of sauce) for each pizza-pie …

slice the vegetable toppings thinly, remove seeds, sprinkle with salt and let strain on a rack with paper towels (to rid them of some of their water) for 30 minutes
preheat oven to 230°C
to assemble the pizza-pie(s), slightly poke the dough everywhere with your fingers but avoid the edges (about 2,5cm), carefully spread out the sauce evenly and arrange the sliced vegetable toppings on top
bake directly on the bottom surface or floor of the oven for 10-12 minutes (to crisp the underside first) and then transfer to the middle rack and let bake for an additional 10-12 minutes until well done
let cool, slice and serve either warm or at room temperature.

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red tomato pizza-pie & green pepper pizza-pie

4 each

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red tomato pizza-pie & green pepper pizza-pie

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