Playing with Pissaladiére

Although Daniel and I are not really big things of routine or making the same dish more than once, one of the things that we enjoy making over and over is homemade pizzas with unique toppings. As you can guess from the recent plethora of posts on bacon, we still had some of the amazing bacon purchased at the farmer’s market so I decided to try to finish it up on a unique pizza.

The recipe for this dough is the same used in an earlier post, left over from the large batch it makes. Although we like this particular recipe pretty well, we will keep experimenting as always and update on any improvements. Although I knew I wanted to finish off the bacon that we had, I always have trouble thinking of unique things to do with bacon. It’s just so delicious by itself, I want to be sure I’m doing something to improve and compliment the taste of the bacon, rather than hide it. As I looked back through our previous pissaladiére post for the dough recipe, I thought that I’d do a play on the "French Muse" and give it a slight makeover deciding on a BLT style pizza using tomato, bacon, and leeks in place of the onions.

As usual, once you decide what to put on the pizza, it’s pretty easy going from there. I simply prepared the leeks just as you would the onion base for the pissaladiére with lots of roasting and butter and olive oil, added the bacon fried crisp, and the tomatoes soaked in an aged balsamic to enhance the fruitiness of the tomato. Once the pizza was assembled, I decided to add a little bit of cheese as well, deciding on a light crumbled goat cheese. The result was a deceptively complex pizza with an amazing flavor from the leeks, permeated through the fruity taste of the tomatoes, the tartness of the goat cheese, and the salty smoky flavor of the bacon. I usually think my pizza's are pretty plain or boring in comparison to Daniel's concoctions, but I have to say I was pretty proud of this one. Enjoy!

BLT Pissaladiére

 Pizza Crust Recipe, available here

Cornmeal sufficient for dusting (1/2 cup)

3 Large Leeks, Sliced thin, white & light green parts only.

3 Tablespoons Butter

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Fresh Thyme Sprigs

2 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs

Salt & Pepper to taste.

3 Pieces of Bacon; Fried Crisp, Crumbled

1/2 Cup Tomatoes, Diced

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 Cup Goat Cheese Crumbles

1 Tbsp Olive Oil* (Optional)

1/2 Tsp Dried Rosemary

1/2 Tsp Dried Thyme

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees while slicing the leeks. Place butter in bottom of casserole dish and place in oven to melt. Once butter has melted add 1/3 of leeks to bottom of pan. Place herbs on top. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil. Place another 1/3 of leeks on top. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Season with Salt & Pepper. Return to oven. Bake until leeks are tender and mostly golden, stirring every 20-30 minutes, approximately 1-1/2 hours. Cool mixture, and discard herbs. (Can be made prior and cooled in fridge overnight).

2. When ready to make pizza, place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 450, allowing at least 45 minutes.Place diced tomatoes in balsamic to soak while you fry or bake the bacon until crisp. While bacon cools, prepare pizza dough and place dough on pizza peel dusted with cornmeal.

3. Spread cooked leeks on prepared pizza dough. Top with crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and goat cheese crumbles. Drizzle with balsamic. Sprinkle herbs on top. *Optionally, can also brush crust with olive oil.

4. Carefully dust pizza stone with corn meal, and carefully slide pizza from peel on to the stone. Cook approximately ten minutes, until crust is golden brown in color. 

5. Remove from oven, allow to cool 3-5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

French Muse

After you have made several of your own pizzas and you experience the variety and quality that can be achieved in-house, carry out or delivery become less appealing. From time to time, certain pies are an adequate substitution for homemade, but last week I wanted to venture outside the realm of familiarity and try something unique. I have become more and more fascinated by French cooking lately (and this is not merely because of "Julie and Julia" which I have not seen) and the other night a Pissaladière struck my fancy.

On a side note, the last pizza stone Dawn and I had lasted several pizzas before it ended in shards after I forgot to place the stone in the oven while it was preheating. This was an instant learning moment and one of those cooking experiences that leave you wiser for the future. Ever since then, the new stone has performed well on the prior pizzas and this one as well.

This Southern French "pizza" as you could call it consists of a caramelized onion base instead of the traditional tomato base often used in Italy. Pissaladière's are loaded with bursting flavors due to the length of time the mound of onions are allowed to cook in the oven with the bits of thyme and rosemary hiding inside to infuse flavor.

Resting on top of the herb infused onions are the anchovies. I realize that anchovies are greeted with hostility and sneers by many Americans because of their pungent odor and salty nature, mostly due to the brine they are packed in. Whether you are on the reluctant team or the robust flavors side, the combination of onions, herbs, mushrooms, and anchovies in this dish is incredible. I chose not to rinse my anchovies prior to placing them on the Pissaladière, but it is a judgment call based on your taste buds. One way or another, these morsels of fishy goodness will leave you wondering why you never forgo tomato sauce for caramelized onions at least when you have a can of anchovies in the cabinet. That, or why you never venture farther than the comfort of Caesar dressing.

Pissaladière Crust
Enough for approximately three to four crusts.
2 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C. water (105–115°F), divided
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
2 t. salt
Corn meal for dusting

Whisk together yeast, 2 Tbsp flour, and 1/2 cup warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a foam, about 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Stir together salt and 3 cups flour in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water and stir until smooth, then stir in 1 cup more flour. If dough sticks to your fingers, stir in just enough corn meal, a little at a time, to make dough just come away from side of bowl. This dough may be wetter than other pizza doughs you have made.

Knead dough on a lightly corn-mealed surface, lightly remealing work surface and hands when dough becomes too sticky, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half and form into the desired size balls, then generously dust balls all over with corn meal and place in medium bowls. Cover bowls with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Before rolling out, balls of dough can be generously dusted with corn meal for added crunchy texture if desired.