Pizza with Local Ingredients

Some good suggestions on making spring pizza from dough to sauce to toppings.

Spring Toppings

Shallots

Basil

Chives and blossoms

Baby greens

Sliced or grilled asparagus

Summer Toppings 

Sliced heirloom tomatoes

Quick-pickled hot peppers

Bell or Italian peppers

Grilled eggplant

Fennel

Arugula

Fall and Winter Toppings

Roasted squash slices

Thinly sliced potato, sweet potato, turnip, or beets

Caramelized onions

Rosemary

Pizza Dough:
Pizza dough is easy to make at home, and if you make a big batch you can freeze some for very easy use later (thaw it, shape it, let it rise 15 min, then top and cook) or cook your own pre-made shells to freeze. Pre-made shells from the store are also great. We are fond of making Deborah Madison’s pizza dough recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I found someone had written it up online, so you can check it out here: Deborah Madison’s Pizza Dough Recipe. We usually up the amount of whole wheat a little bit. You could get some of our local whole wheat flour at the farmstands to use while it lasts.

Sauce:
Sauce for pizza is critical. I tend to do a little more ingredients with my sauce than Deborah Madison (whose simple sauce recipe is also in that link). For spring pizza sauce, cook up chopped green garlic, a bunch of olive oil, a bay leaf, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, black pepper, then add the tomato puree and cook down a little bit. (We have our Tomato Puree at the stands for sale while it lasts in the spring). Tasting it and tweaking it to get a nice rich flavor with enough salt is key. Other fun ingredients – red wine and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

To Cook:
Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Form your dough as thin as you can get it. Put on a baking sheet upon which you have sprinkled cornmeal. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Spread the sauce on top to cover nicely. Lay down greens if you’re using them. Then cheese, then other toppings that might need a little cookings. Possibly a little more cheese on top. Bake for about 12 minutes with a timer, watching for a nice browning of the cheese. And if it’s in my oven, don’t use the bottom rack, because it will burn the crust on the bottom. Enjoy!