Pizza of the month

In my most recent newsletter, I promised that for the next post I would introduce a recurring feature on the blog.

Pizza of the month.

The thing is, I’m only allowed to use leftovers I can find in my fridge or freezer. And the reason I promised this was my bad conscience.
In earlier posts, I have been preaching about how important it is that we reduce our food waste, followed by some tips and recipes.
Haven’t been much of that lately, right?

So I decided to put myself under some pressure and made this commitment. The day after I woke up with that infamous, oh shit, how do I get out of this- feeling.

But a promise is a promise.

CAN YOU MAKE PIZZA WITHOUT TOMATO SAUCE?

So, last weekend I made an inventory in the kitchen.
I always have flour, olive oil, and sourdough starter available so the pizza dough would not be a problem.

Usually, I have a package of pizza sauce in my pantry.
But not this time. So I searched the freezer instead. All I could find was half a package of crushed tomatoes.
Not that bad, I said to myself. At least it contained basil, so it was almost like a real pizza sauce.

I was in a better mood when I looked in the fridge and found some prosciutto ham. There was not much of it, and it looked a bit depressing because they had mauled it completely when slicing it in the grocery store, but it was enough.
Crushed tomatoes (with basil) and prosciutto ham is a quite good foundation for a pizza.

WASTING FOOD IS ALWAYS BAD

My mood rose, even more, when I found a package of mozzarella. This will be a breeze, I thought. But then I checked the expiration date, and I realized that this mozzarella had been sitting in my fridge for a long time. I squeezed it lightly. Mozzarella should have an elastic structure, but this one had collapsed completely. There was only one thing to do.
But I promise I felt like a criminal when I wasted it.

I had to stick with some other pieces of leftover cheese I had saved. It was not mozzarella, but it was good enough.
In the vegetable box, I found some kale that looked somewhat wilted. It was still edible, but it had to be used in a very near future.
But can you have kale on pizza?
I love kale, so I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients

A pizza should not be overloaded, so I decided to stop there. I had already prepared the dough for the pizza crust. In this recipe, I have used my sourdough starter, but commercial yeast works great.

Before I continue, I want to point out that the main purpose of this post is not to give you a first class pizza recipe. Because, honestly, it’s quite ordinary (and amateurish). You have probably figured out that you only have to google pizza to find countless more interesting recipes than this.
Some will say that this recipe is a joke, and I don’t blame them. I mean even the photos are not that good.

But that is not important.

What’s important is that I want to sparkle your imagination when it comes to leftovers.
Because, even if this is not the most delicious pizza I have eaten, it still tasted great. Apparently, the rest of the family thought so too.
It disappeared quicker than a tupé in a hurricane when I took it out of the oven.
Everybody loves pizza. My family is no exception.

PREPARING THE DOUGH

This recipe is based on a sourdough starter as fermentation agent.
Sometimes I use fresh yeast, but I have no experience in dry or instant yeast, so if you prefer that I’m sure you can find tons of recipes on the internet.

I mixed all ingredients for the dough and kneaded it for a minute. After 60 minutes rest, I shaped the dough into a round.
I placed the rounds into a lightly greased baking tray with a drip of olive oil on top of the dough. That will prevent it from sticking to the cling film use to cover it with.

I let the dough proof for an hour in room temperature before I placed it in the refrigerator, where it was allowed to ferment for 18 hours.
If you are short of time, you can let the dough ferment for 5 – 6 hours in room temperature instead.

SHAPING THE PIZZA CRUST

I can just as well admit at once. I’m not an expert when it comes to shaping a pizza crust. But I sure hope this pizza-of-the-month idea will improve my skill a bit. Who knows, in a couple of months I may be able to shape a decent pizza. But until then I advise you to look somewhere else for useful information. Youtube has lots of great videos about this subject.
Again, the purpose of this post is not to give you the perfect pizza recipe. I want to provide inspiration about how to make use of your leftovers.

I do have one good advice if you are a beginner when it comes to pizza.
Place the pizza crust on a piece of parchment paper before adding the toppings. It makes it so much easier to transfer it to the oven.

BAKING

I preheated the oven to maximum heat, 560ºF/300ºC. If you have a baking stone, use it. The pizza crust will be so much better. It will need 5-10 minutes in the oven.

So how did my first pizza of the month taste? Well, as said earlier, it disappeared quickly when I took it out of the oven. My family devoured it in no time, so I guess it wasn’t that bad. And I made use of some leftovers.
I’m still disturbed about that mozzarella. But at least I saved the kale.
And yes, it works great on pizza.