Tuesday, April 3, 2012
TWD: Baking With Julia- Pizza Rustica
This has pizza in the title, but this is not pizza in the traditional sense of the word. I do like the rustica part of the title though. Mostly because I like the word rustic. I was thinking this was going to be a difficult recipe, because I really do not enjoy rolling out doughs... not that I can't do it. I just prefer the kind of dough I can go shopping with and get a fabulous pair of shoes. But, I am a committed kind of girl. This recipe called for prosciutto, so I knew there would be some adjusting that needed to be done, seeing how I am pork free kinda gal. I know... pork rules, but just not in this kingdom.
I was concerned that I was not going to like this crust, with the sweetness of it. I was a little leery of the whole thing quite honestly. And I was just not in the mood to bake. It could've had something to do with the fact that my kitchen was a complete disaster, or maybe that I was just in a generally bad mood. Commitment kicked me in the pants, aggression taken out on the dough.
I followed the dough recipe pretty much, with the exception of using some whole grains, because I mix my flours in my canister. The inside calls for ricotta, parsley, eggs, mozzarella and pecorino romano cheeses. I was leaving out the prosciutto, so in place of it I added sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and roasted red peppers. I used about 1/4 package of frozen spinach and squeezed it dry. I also made sure the peppers and sun-dried tomatoes were dry. I also used low fat ricotta or part skim.
So, the big taste test. I really liked this little pizza rustica. I enjoyed the slight sweetness of the crust against the savory inside (though next time I might cut the sugar back a little). We ate it warm, which may be a no-no, but the kind of requests, "wait 30 minutes to eat" or "eat at room temp." are rules just waiting to be broken in my opinion. I liked it warm better than room temp anyway. We shared with our neighbors, and they enjoyed it. I would make it again, as it was really pretty easy and quick for something that looked so fussy. I would love roasted green chilies in it.
One other note... my kids are fantastic little eaters. I mean, seriously, they beat out almost any other kids I have seen. They were not too crazy about this. They ate it, just complained a little about it. I think this is a more mature kinda dish for a more mature palette. This would be fabulous for a luncheon or a brunch. We ate it for dinner, so it works for that too!
The recipe can be found on pages 430-431 of Baking With Julia, or on our lovely hosts websites. Emily and Raelynn --thanks for hosting!
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Nicely done! I added similar ingredients and preferred it warm as opposed to room temp as well. I thought this was a fun one to do.
ReplyDeletegreat looking pizza. I really enjoyed making this. In place of pork, I added sauteed onions and pepper. I actually perferred the pie cold.
ReplyDeleteSundried tomatoes, yum! It looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it was a hit (at least with the adults!). Your pizza rustica looks great!
ReplyDeleteWe ate ours warm as well :-) Although, it was good room temperature as well.
ReplyDeleteSo, yeah, I am not sure I would tackle this one on my own:) So if you get the notion to make it again...feel free to share:)!! It was really good!
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