Polenta Pizza

Polenta Pizza is a bit of a misnomer, but a delicious one.  It's not a pizza so much as layers of dense polenta topped with flavors you might run into on a traditional pizza pie.  You eat it with a fork, but it's as satisfying as the hand-held version.  We love the simplicity of this recipe from Real Simple, but made a few additions to be sure the crust was substantial and the toppings were a bit more conventional.  If we can't persuade our diners that this is pizza, we wanted to at least suggest that it's pizza's first cousin.


This is certainly not the traditional, labor-intensive method of mixing up Italian polenta.  Instead, the recipe employs a trick we love:  mixing the grains with cold water before the addition of boiling water.  Doing so eliminates the clumping that can occur when polenta hits hot water and makes for chef-friendly cooking.  The addition of eggs and cheese create a savory and stable crust that holds its shape when it's time to slice and serve the pie.  Unlike traditional pizza crust which can get soggy beneath a juicy tomato sauce, polenta tastes even better when it soaks up other flavors.  Thus, we use our favorite jarred pasta sauce (from Costco) on top of the polenta and beneath the pizza toppings rather than a thicker, dryer pizza sauce.


The recipe below keeps the toppings traditional, but your imagination is the limit.  We used a classic Pizza Margherita as our base and added a few toppings to make it more crowd-pleasing.  We used Amy's chicken sausage on the pie, but a classic Italian sausage would work just as well.  If you halt your sausage before it reaches the southern border of your pizza pan, you'll be able to offer a vegetarian option when necessary.  We finished the pie with generous handfuls of fresh herbs, a dash of sea salt and a few turns of freshly ground pepper and served it alongside a fresh salad.    So grab your fork, grab a slice and enjoy! 

Flatbread with Tapenade and Feta

Serves 30+ as a light appetizer

• (2) pre-made pizza doughs from the refrigerator section of your grocery store*
• 16 oz jar of good quality eggplant tapenade or sundried tomato spread (visit Trader Joe's for both)
• 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 lemon, juiced

Preheat oven to 450 degress F.  

Lightly oil a full-size sheet pan with olive oil.   Combine both pizza doughs into one loaf and press dough out on a full size sheet pan.  Dough will vary in thickness and have an uneven shape.   Lightly oil the topside of the dough will olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly grated pepper.  Bake dough for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown.  Allow dough to cool and then tear into 2" segments.  

Combine tapenade and crumbled feta in a small work bowl.  Freshen with the juice of one lemon.  Transfer tapenade to a small serving bowl and serve along side the torn flatbread.

*We like Whole Foods whole-grain pizza dough which is available at the in-store pizza counter; Trader Joe's also carries ready-to-bake pizza dough in the refrigerated aisles.  If you can't find dough at your grocery, you can often by it at your neighborhood pizzeria.  And if you're ambitious, you can certainly make a batch of your own.

Polenta Pizza

Makes 36 slices

For the crust:

• Olive oil, for coating baking sheet
• 10 cups course-ground whole-grain polenta or cornmeal
• 5 cups cold water
• 5 cups boiling water
• 10 eggs 
• 20 oz grated mozzarella cheese  

Preheat oven to 450 degress F.  Lightly oil a full-size sheet pan

In a large bowl, combine polenta with the cold water and mix well.  Add the boiling water to the bowl in a steady stream, constantly mixing with a whisk.  Stir in eggs and mozzarella.  Carefully pour out the (very wet!) polenta mixture onto the sheet pan. (You may want to have one person tip the bowl while another person gently coaxes the mixture onto the pan.)  Carefully transfer the pan to the oven (again, a two-person job) and pre-bake the crust until lightly browned and crisp, about 20 minutes.  Keep warm until ready to top.

For the toppings:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups jarred roasted red peppers, cut into slivers
• 2 medium red onions, thinly sliced into half moons
• 10 cups pasta sauce
• 5 cups fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup green olives, thinly sliced 
• 1 lb pre-cooked chicken sausage, thinly sliced into rounds
• 2 lbs fresh mozzarella logs, thinly sliced 
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 cup fresh basil, leaves rolled tightly and sliced into thin strips 

Pre-heat the grill top to medium-high.

Transfer the pasta sauce to a small saucepan and gently warm over low-medium heat.


Warm the olive oil on the grill top until it shimmers slightly but not so long that it begins to smoke.  Saute the onions for 15 minutes until wilted and slightly browned.  Transfer onions to a bowl to rest.  Add the mushrooms to the grill top and saute for 10 minutes until lightly browned.


Spoon pasta sauce over the polenta crust.  Arrange mozzarella slices evenly over the pie.  Top with sautéed vegetables and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake until topping bubbles, about 12 to 15 minutes.  Garnish with basil, slice with a pizza wheel and serve immediately.






 

Romaine Salad with Greek Dressing

Serves 36

• 6 hearts of Romaine, sliced into 1/2" strips
• 3 cups sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into thin strip
• 12 oz Greek-style vinagrette
• 1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1 loaf flavorful bakery bread like Rosemary Olive Oil or Roasted Garlic for croutons
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Slice romaine hearts against the direction of the leaves to get 1/2" thin rounds.  Wash chopped lettuce under cool water and drain well in a colander. 

If using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, place tomatoes in a colander or sieve and allow to drain well.  If using dry tomatoes, soak in several cups of hot water to rehydrate and then drain well.  Using a kitchen shears or paring knife, slice tomatoes into thin strips.


Cube bread loaf into 1/2" squares and place squares in a small roasting pan.  Toss bread with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.   Roast croutons in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until crisp.  Allow to cool.

About ten minutes before serving, toss lettuce with sun dried tomatoes, vinagrette and grated cheese.  Season well with sea salt and freshly grated pepper.   Just before serving, top salad with croutons.  Serve immediately.