It's a well known fact in these parts that "mamma doesn't cook on Friday night". What that does mean is she cooks Saturday - Thursday and by Thursday there are lots of bits of this and that which need to get used. So this past week I decided to make this from that.
Sure it's pizza, but it's deep dish pizza made from all the left over veggies and meats from the previous week's dinners. This is a perfect way to clean out the fridge. Ok, I admit it, I adore pizza and will look for any excuse to create one.
This started with a new trial crust (recipe will follow the post) which turned out to be pretty good. I also made this in my spring form pan so it was easy to serve. Here's the scoop. I made a simple sauce of 1/2 half an onion chopped, sauteed in 1 TBLSP butter and 1 TBLSP Olive oil for about 3 minutes, then added 2 minced garlic cloves. Then I added 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste (a pinch of crushed red pepper too) and simmered for about 15 minutes. Then I pulled all the veggies out of my fridge. I had 4 shitake mushrooms, 5 baby bella mushrooms, a piece of green pepper, a piece of red bell pepper, a jalapeno and some more onion. I sliced all these veggies and sauteed them slightly in some olive oil. I found a bit of spicy Italian sausage and cooked that up and then I found 2 stray pieces of Hot Capocollo that I sliced. All the makings for perfect pizza. Of course I had some mozzerella cheese to grate and I found a couple of slices of provolone.
Next I rolled out the pizza dough, put it in my pan (I sprayed the pan with cooking spray and drizzled a bit of olive oil in the bottom first). I then put the pizza dough pan in the oven (425 degrees with the pizza stone) for 8 minutes. This made sure the crust would be crispy before the filling. In the bottom of the pan I put down the slices of provolone cheese and the mozzarella to cover. On top of this I layered my veggies and meat and then spread the sauce all over the top making sure to seal the edges. I didn't quite use all the sauce, but it really depends on how big your pan is. Then I sprinkled some fresh grated parmesan cheese and a little Italian Herb mix on the top and a little drizzle of olive oil. Put the whole thing back in the oven on top of the pizza stone for 20 minutes or until it's golden brown and bubbly. After you remove the pizza from the oven be sure to let it rest for at least 10 minutes before you try to serve or it will fall apart. Here's what I ended up with.
The best part was I used all the bits and pieces of leftover cooking. You can use anything that makes you happy. Whatever pizza flavors you like will work. Olives and artichokes are a great addition. Leave out the meat if you don't have any or don't want it. If you want a short cut you can open a jar of pasta sauce instead. The possibilities are endless. This is the perfect way to embellish your heart out.
