sweet potato and kale flatbread pizza

A couple nights ago when some of my kids were still home after Thanksgiving we went out to a local winery for some wine and music.  While we were there we had a flatbread pizza.  Now that the kids are gone I have been inspired to try a flatbread pizza at home.

The winery's flatbread came topped with roasted peppers and summer squash, mushrooms, sage, fresh mozzarella and a kale pesto base.  I decided to use what I had on hand so I went with sweet potatoes, kale and chopped pecans on a homemade ricotta base.

First I made the crust dough and while it was raising I made the homemade ricotta.  While the ricotta was in the chinois to strain I peeled and sliced a small sweet potato and tossed it with a drizzle of olive oil. When the ricotta was done straining I added a few thyme leaves.

To assemble the flatbread pizza I divided the dough in quarters and rolled one of the quarters into a rectangle approximately 6 inches by 8 inches and 1/4 inch thick.  I rolled it out on a sheet of parchment paper.

 I spread the ricotta cheese in a thin layer covering the crust.

Then I topped the ricotta with the oiled sweet potato slices and a little salt.

And put it in the oven on the parchment paper on the pizza stone and baked it for 7 minutes.  If you aren't using a pizza stone you can bake the pizza on the parchment on a baking sheet.  After seven minutes I rotated the flatbread and slipped the paper out from under the flatbread.  I used a spatula to lift a corner of the pizza, the pizza had released itself from the parchment and I was able to slip the parchment out leaving the pizza sitting directly on the pizza stone.  I then added the pecans and it baked for another 7 minutes.  While it was baking I massaged the kale with a little olive oil by removing the leaf from the stem and cutting into bite-sized pieces.  I put the pieces in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and stirred them around with my fingers rubbing the leaves together for about four minutes.  The massaging helps to reduce the bitterness of the kale.

At the end of the second seven minutes I sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese on and baked it for one more minute.

When the flatbread pizza came out of the oven I topped it with the massaged kale and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

I cut it into six pieces.

I was really pleased with how it turned out.  The crust was crispy.  The sweet potato was soft. The toasted pecans added a nice crunch and the balsamic adds a nice layer of flavor.

To make the crust:

3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp active-dry or instant yeast
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Combine the water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to dissolve the yeast.  Add the flour and salt and mix with the dough hook for five minutes.  Knead the dough a couple times to form a nice ball and place in an oiled bowl.  Cover and let raise until double, about 90 minutes.  When double in size, punch down and divide into quarters and roll out each portion into a thin crust on parchment paper or refrigerate the dough up to three days.

To make the homemade ricotta:

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar (I used champagne vinegar)

Combine the milk and cream is saucepan, stir in the salt.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  When it reaches a full rolling boil, remove from heat and add the vinegar.  Allow to stand for a minute or two to form curds.  Pour through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to separate the curds from the whey.  I used a chinois.  Allow to strain for up to 30 minutes.  The longer it strains the drier the cheese will be.  Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 3/4 cup of finished cheese.

To assemble a single flatbread pizza:

1/4 crust recipe
1/4 cup homemade ricotta
1/4 tsp fresh thyme
1 small sweet potato, sliced into thin (1/8 -1/4 inch thick) crosswise slices.
1 tsp olive oil
salt
1/8 cup pecans, chopped
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
2-3 small kale leaves, stems removed and cut or torn into bite sized pieces
1 tsp olive oil
drizzle balsamic vinegar

Place pizza stone on rack 1/3 up from the bottom of oven and preheat oven to 450°.  Roll out the crust on a sheet of parchment paper to a 6x8 inch or so rectangle .  Mix the thyme with the ricotta.  Spread over the crust.  Place the sweet potatoes in a bowl with 1 tsp olive oil and toss to coat.  Place the oiled slices on the ricotta layer and salt lightly.  Place the parchment sheet with the pizza on the pizza stone using a peel or inverted baking sheet to transfer the pizza to the stone.  Bake 7 minutes.  After 7 minutes rotate the pizza and remove the parchment paper.  Add the pecans.  Bake another 7 minutes.  Massage the kale with the olive oil.  When the second 7 minutes of baking has finished, add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and bake one more minute.  Remove from the oven and top with the massaged kale and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Cut and serve. 

sources:
crust recipe adapted from here
ricotta cheese recipe here
toppings inspiration adapted from here

Update:

 So the next day I took another quarter of the crust dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature.  Once it was room temperature I rolled it out into an oval and topped it with some leftover spaghetti sauce that was canned from our garden tomatoes and more of the homemade ricotta cheese and a little Parmesan cheese.  I baked it as before--450° for 15 minutes, removing the parchment paper after the first 7 minutes and it turned out great.

shared at this party:

The Comforts of Home Tasty Tuesday

butternut squash and kale tart

It is November in Minnesota and everything is pretty much done in our garden except for the kale which is still tolerating the cool temperatures.  I had found a recipe that paired kale with butternut squash and Gruyere cheese.  Having both butternut squash and kale available from the garden it seemed like a good time to try this tart.  It has a whole wheat crust and it was colorful, with the dark green of the kale and the bright orange of the squash.  The Gruyere cheese added a slightly smoky flavor.

There are several steps to completing this recipe so it is not really quick and easy but none of it is particularly difficult.  The crust is made, chilled, rolled out and then baked empty.  The squash is cubed and then roasted.  The onions are sauteed and the kale is sauteed.  Once these four ingredients are cooked separately they are then combined and baked.

First the crust:

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp ice water

In food processor with metal blade process the flours to combine.  Add the cubed butter and pulse to incorporate the butter into the flour.  When pea sized pieces form add the vinegar and the water and process just until dough comes together.  Gather dough into a ball, wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.  Remove from refrigerator and roll out into a circle.  Place crust into tart pan.  run a rolling pin over the pan's edges to trim away the excess crust dough.  The original recipe called for the surface of the tart crust to be covered with parchment and pie weights used for the first 15 minutes of baking and then the parchment and weights are removed for the remaining 10 minutes.  Instead I pricked the bottom of the crust with a fork before baking which worked just fine.  Bake at 400° for 25 minutes.  Then remove from oven to cool.  

Next the roasted squash:

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I used half of the squash in the above picture)
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
salt  and pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg

combine the squash, oil and seasonings in a bowl and stir to coat.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the 400° oven for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

while the squash is baking do the kale:

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch of kale, stems removed and roughly torn or chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

pinch salt

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil and when hot add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the kale and cook for 5-7 minutes.  While cooking add the red pepper flakes and salt.  When done transfer to a large bowl.

Use the same pan to cook the onions:

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

salt

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat the oil over medium heat and when hot add the onion slices and salt and cook for about 20 minutes stirring frequently.  Stir in the balsamic vinegar and remove from heat.  Allow to cool.

Make the filling and assemble the tart:

3 eggs, beaten

sauteed kale

roasted squash, divided

onions

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated, divided

black pepper 

Blot the kale dry if very wet.  Add the beaten eggs to the kale along with 3/4 of the squash, the onions, 1/2 of the cheese and a few grinds of black pepper.  Pour into the tart crust.  Top with remaining squash and cheese and a few more grinds of black pepper.  Bake in the 400° oven for 25-28 minutes or when egg is set and top is lightly browned.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

source:  original recipe here

olive garden's zuppa toscana

One of our family's favorite soups is the Zuppa Toscana that is served at Olive Garden.  It is a great soup, hearty with potatoes and sausage and a great way to sneak in a serving of kale.  Olive Garden had this recipe on their website and it tastes just like what they serve in the restaurant.  This winter I will be making this with potatoes from our garden and kale that I have frozen or fresh from the winter greenhouse.  I use fresh garlic in place of the garlic puree and I have used chicken stock in place of the water and bouillon. 

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

1 pound ground Italian sausage*

1 ½ tsp crushed red peppers

1 large white onion, diced

4 Tbsp bacon pieces

2 tsp garlic puree

10 cups water

5 cubes chicken bouillon

1 cup heavy cream

1 pound (3 large) russet potatoes, sliced

¼ bunch kale

Saute the sausage and red pepper flakes in a large pot.  Drain excess fat and refrigerate.  In same pan saute the bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 minutes or until onions are soft.  Add chicken bouillon and water and heat until it starts to boil.  Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about 30 minutes.  Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.  Stir in the sausage and the kale,  let all heat through and serve.

*Johnsonville mild Italian brats work well.

sauteed kale with garlic

Recently I was visiting with my sister-in-law who had stopped at the farmstand.  She was looking for kale and there was not any offered for sale that day so I picked some for her from the potager.  She was telling that a relative of hers sauteed her kale with garlic.  It sounded good.  She did not provide the recipe so here is my stab at sauteed kale with garlic.

To begin with I gathered some freshly picked kale and washed it and blanched it as explained here.  Once I had the kale blanched I heated a pan and added a little olive oil and some sliced garlic.  I used about 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and four garlic cloves. 

Once the garlic was getting a little color and starting to be a little fragrant I added the kale.

The moisture that was in the kale steamed away once it hit the hot skillet.  After about a minute of sauteing we served it.

Here is it pictured as side dish with soup and roasted sweet potatoes.  You can see the crunchy bits of sauteed garlic slices.

It had good flavor and texture.  We decided part way through the meal that it might be good with Parmesan cheese, which we had and pine nuts, which we did not have.  We added the Parmesan which really added interest to this dish.  I would try it again next time with some pine nuts.

how to freeze kale

When you look on the internet there are lots of directions for freezing kale.  This is what I did:

When I picked the kale I gathered it into bunches and put a rubber band around the stems.

Then I swished the kale bundle in a bowl of water and then rinsed it under the faucet.

 

I blanched it by placing it in pot of boiling water, still rubber banded together.

After one minute I used my tongs to lift the bundle from the boiling water and placed the bundle in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.

When the kale was cool I removed the rubber band and took each individual leaf and placed it on the cutting board with the two sides of the leaf folded together and the stem exposed to be cut away with a knife.

If your kale leaves are large the kale halves can be cut smaller by running a knife through the pile a couple of times.

Then since my kale was still holding on to a lot of water I placed mine in a salad spinner and removed what water I could.

Then it is just to bag up and date the blanched kale and place it in the freezer.

It will be a great addition to soups and other cooked kale recipes.