Mediterranean Pizza (with Broccoli)

After seeing the delectable asparagus, fingerling potato and goat cheese pizza on Wendy's blog Pink Stripes I was inspired to make pizza of my own this week. 

For my crust, I used the same recipe she did from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart . It was the October 2008 Daring Bakers challenge, and let me say how fantastic it is. It is unbelievably simple to make - especially in a stand mixer. The dough takes less than 10 minutes to put together, nd doesn't require multiple turns of kneading and rising - simple, simple, simple! This recipe calls for tossing the dough. I had never tossed pizza dough before, but I was eager to give it try. It wasn't a terribly graceful operation, but it was  lot of fun, and it worked! I used 2 of the 6 balls of dough that the recipe makes, and ended up with pizzas approximately 12" in diameter. 

I went a little crazy with the toppings, but it all worked together, and the pizzas were delicious. I topped them with locally made tomato sauce, broccoli, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh parmesan, fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola, walnuts and fresh basil. So yummy. The recipe for the crust can be found here at Rosa's Yummy Yums

Broccoli and Panir Wontons

In exploring new ways to use panir, I came up with these. I had egg roll wrappers in my fridge left over from my Vegetable Egg Rolls, so I had the idea for a kind of Chinese-Indian fusion recipe. I was very happy with the way they turned out, they were quite tasty, and very quick and easy to make.

Broccoli and Panir Wontons

2 cups broccoli florets, cut into small pieces

1 cup panir, cut into small cubes

1 cup chiffonaded spinach

1/4 cup roasted salted pistachios

1/4 cup thompson raisins

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons olive oil + more for frying wontons

1 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar

egg roll wrappers

Heat olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Lay out egg roll wrappers on dry surface - parchment paper works well - so that the points are facing up and down and to the sides, and prepare a small bowl of water to seal wrappers. When oil is hot, add cumin and stir until aroma is released, and a sort of paste has formed. Add broccoli and stir until well coated. Place lid on pan and let cook for about 5 minutes, or until broccoli begins to brown and soften. Remove lid, add raisins, coconut and pistachios, stir and cover for another 3-4 minutes. Remove lid and add spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat. In another pan, pour 1/4" of olive oil, and place on medium heat. While oil is heating, spoon filling onto bottom half of egg roll wrappers (about 2 heaping tablespoons) making sure to leave 1/2" inch of space on the sides. Dip your fingers in the water and spread around the entire perimeter of wrapper. Fold empty side over filling so that edges meet up and press together. Fold edge over all the way around the two sides you just brought together. Place in hot oil. Fry until well browned. Turn over and repeat. You could also deep fry these. Place wontons on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Serve immediately with basmati rice. Enjoy!  

Vegetable Egg Rolls, Sauteed Broccoli, Mustard-Tamari-Maple Sauce

I learned how to make these egg rolls when I was six years old. A good friend of my mom's who was an excellent cook invited us over for dinner and a lesson in egg roll making. I never forgot what Susan taught me, and I have made them many times in the last 23 years. I've tweaked them a little bit, but they are essentially the same egg roll.

Vegetable Egg Rolls

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup grated cabbage (any variety will do, but purple adds nice color)

1 cup grated zucchini (squeeze out extra moisture before measuring)

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

salt to taste

egg roll wrappers

oil for frying (I use olive, but you can use the oil of your choice)

small bowl of water

Stir all ingredients together. Pour ~ 1/4 inch of oil into a frying pan and turn on med heat. 

Lay out several egg roll wrappers on a dry surface so that their points are up and down (like a diamond). Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of filling onto each wrapper, placing it just below the center of the wrapper.

 Fold the bottom point up first, and wrap around the filling. Next fold each side point over, making sure that there are no openings for the filling to escape through. Next, roll upwards until only ~ 1/2 inch of the top point is still showing. Dip your fingers in water, dab the water on the point and smooth it onto the roll. 

Place the egg rolls in pan after oil is good and hot. Turn with tongs when bottom is bubbly and browned. Repeat until whole roll is cooked in this way. You could also deep fry these, if you wanted. When egg roll is cooked completely (approximately 10 minutes), remove from pan and place on paper towels to absorb extra oil. Serve.

Sauteed Broccoli

3 cups chopped broccoli

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tamari

There is rarely a meal that goes by in my house that does not contain broccoli (hence the name of my blog). I love it. If I could only pick one food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be broccoli. I have it added to just about everything I order in restaurants, much to the surprise of many a server. This is a simple recipe that we eat frequently.

Pour oil into large frying pan on medium heat. When oil is hot, add broccoli, stir, and place lid on pan. After about 5-7 minutes (or when broccoli is slightly browned). Stir, replace lid and leave for another 5-7 minutes. Broccoli is done when soft (not mushy) and still very green. At this point, add the tamari. When it stops sizzling, turn off heat and serve. 

Note: It is also very good to add nuts to this. Add when broccoli is about half cooked. Cashews and walnuts are especially nice.

Mustard-Tamari-Maple sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons mustard 

1 teaspoon tamari

1 teaspoon maple syrup

3 tablespoons olive oil

whisk all ingredients together