Pesto Margherita!

N sulks. "why can't we be cool like the Daring Bakers?"

A: Oh we are, we just don't want to show off. N (stares unbelievingly- then decides to believe) : *hmph* I need to do something to show I'm as brilliant as any of them.

A: Let's bake a pizza?

N: Everyone does that. *wail*

A: Hey, how about a pesto pizza?

N (perks up at anything pestoey): Come! We will post it on the 27th. Just when the DB post theirs. Everyone will get tired of the sweet concoctions and come for salvation to our blog no?

A (looking away): Sure thing. Isn't there something else on the 27th?

N: Hmm... oh its Nags' first anniversary! And they love pizza! We are more thoughtful than the Daring Bakers no? I mean, we are making this for a friend, right?

A: Of course, of course. You are the nicest of 'em all. Now pizza or no pizza?

This conversation was held a couple of weeks ago after we debated whether we should join Daring Bakers or not. Quite frankly, if we joined DB, we'd spend more time cleaning the sugar syrup off the kitchen floor than really making the dessert. So, in a very forgiving spirit, we decided to let the Daring Bakers do their thing. We shall do ours. Pesto is my thing, and pizza is his thing, and together, we are the 'leering at pizza' bakers which is a far fun name than Daring Bakers, don't ya think? Also, to cover up for our selfishness, we are posting this in honour of a very dear friend of mine who has forcefully made friends with A too (she wouldn't be my friend if she didn't use force, duh!) who is celebrating her first year of her married life today on the 27th. Nags and her DH, this pizza goes out to you. Really. I mean we made it for you only. Even though our common friends decided NOT to come to my wedding in order to save their vacation leaves at work to come to yours. And all because it was held in a very hot (literally!) Kerala. Anyway, since I'm nice and all, I've forgotten all that and so, here's wishing you a happy, happy Anniversary :) Hope you have as much fun as we are having (not!) :P

We cook 'really' elaborately during the weekends. Okay, we cook elaborately everyday. But during the weekends, it is either high-risk experiments, haphazard timings for meals, some sitting in front of the oven watching the stuff inside. Some fights, some make-up time while the slow cooking dish takes its time ;)

This is one such recipe. I watched somewhere a pesto pizza being made. We'd never eaten a pesto pizza. That aside, I adore pesto. I can live on pesto if my waist wasn't giving me hints. I eat pesto with all types of bread. I decided it was time for a pesto pizza. I also love Margherita. Now, why compromise? Its not like A has a say anyway. So, that is exactly what we made! And it was so beautiful. I'm telling you ti was a beautiful dish to look at (now, this is not a sweet thing made by DB ok? So, we are different. So we are beautiful in our own way ok?). I loved that we baked it in a cookie tray and not our usual pizza stone. Take a look?

Don't you want the recipe? I can almost see you scrolling down to skip my drivel and going to the recipe. (Ah! What confidence!) :D

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 1/4 All purpose flour or Maida

1/3 cup semolina flour or Rava

3/4 cup milk

1 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Active Dry yeast

2 tsp Sugar

2tsp Salt

1. Warm milk, olive oil and sugar (either in the microwave or gas). Make sure the sugar is dissolved. Add yeast and let it sit for 10 mins until it is nice and frothy.

2. In the meantime, in a large bowl, add the flours and salt. Make a well in the center.

3. Add the frothy yeast in the well and incorporate the flour slowly. Work on it until all of is incorporated. Knead well for 5- 10 mins (Think Michelle Obama arms here :P). If the dough is too sticky, go ahead and add some more flour. Coat dough with olive oil and cover the dough with moist cloth and let it rest and rise until nearly double the volume.

4. Once risen, push dough back to release air and then let it rest for 20 more mins.

Once the dough is ready, stretch it across the cookie tray which is lined with aluminium foil. Ours was - 15"/7" and 3/4" deep. You could of course use a circular pizza stone for this. Before stretching it out on the cookie tray, you can roll it into a rough rectangular shape using a rolling pin.





















Once the dough is all stretched out on the tray, poke with a fork to create air gaps.

For the Pesto:

2.5 cups spinach

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup Olive oil

1/3 cup roasted peanuts

1/4 cup milk

2-3 green chillies, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp tarragon

This is simple! Just blend all of this to form a thick paste/pesto. You could saute the spinach before putting it in too. We used baby spinach and didn't think we needed it. We used peanuts instead of the traditional pine nuts or any other nuts. No, we were not being inventive. Strangely, we didn't have any other nuts in the house. Apart from A, who I'd loved to throw into the blender, but well, I needed to check on the insurance thing. So, I desisted this time around.


Assembling the pizza

1/3 cup mozzarella

1/2 cup bell peppers - we used the green ones

1/3 cup onion - thinly sliced

Tomato slices - depends on how long/big your tray is and how many you want.

2 tsp oregano

On the cookie tray holding the stretched out dough, spread the pesto and sprinkle some half the mozzarella cheese and then throw in the veggies except for tomatoes. Arrange the tomatoes in rows and and throw the rest of the cheese and the oregano. Drizzle some Olive Oil on top of your creation and bake it for 25-30 mins. The cheese should be all melted and gooey and the sides of the crust should be brown. We also broiled it for a few seconds, but highly inadvisable if you are going to be jumping up and down in anticipation of the pizza, and not really looking at how much broiling is happening!

And, and, we are sending to Neha for FIC: Red and Green, an event conceptualized by the colourful Sunshinemom!

Okay, back to pesto! May I say myself, at the risk of sounding immodest that this was my idea and I'm extremely, extremely proud of this? Can you tell we didn't eat dinner that night? And that we walked for 3 miles and came back and couldn't even drink milk? Can you tell that we still slept with a smile and gooey dreams.

No? Yes? NO? Then, try this pizza and analyze your dreams. Make it with your partner and its more fun ;)

A (eating his nth slice of pizza): BTW, weren't you on a 'lower carbs' thing?

N (licking the cup that had the pesto): I can't hear when I eat. We'll talk later.

Squash soup :)

Every visit to the Farmer's Market is a much-awaited and much-dreaded weekend for me because A's face changes, his mouth spreads wide into a grin on seeing them - he did not smile this much even at our wedding. He starts ogling at them, touching them and feels them lovingly. I hate them. I walk away hurt. His eyes narrow as I try to ignore his atrocious behaviour in front of everyone. He gets back at me. He gets back at me by holding them in his hand. Pays hard-earned money for them. Uses my beloved oven and makes them into one of favourite meals - soup. The only reason I dread the Farmer's Market is because of the unique relationship between A and the myriad of squashes available there.

A loves to cook and he loves to give surprises. Combine both, and I have a gala :D So, it was my birthday last weekend according to the Hindu calendar and my husband cooked the WHOLE day for me :D Among the stuff made were these Pesto rolls, an ice cream cake whose recipe he's promised to post soon and some creamy squash soup for dinner. I love this soup though I hate squash and A *loves* squash as is obvious!

It is super simple to make and extremely, extremely tasty. I love it and we make it quite often. In fact, the rule at home now is that we should use squash only in that form :) Here is the recipe for all you soup connoisseurs.



Ingredients

1 Acorn squash

1 Butternut squash

1 tbsp heavy cream

1 tbsp butter1 tbsp olive oil+extra for brushing.

1/4 tsp crushed Oregano
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp paprika powder
Pinch of Nutmeg
Pinch of Tarragon
Salt to taste
Crushed peppercorn to taste.
Water as needed

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.

2. Cut each squash into quarters. Brush them with olive oil and let them soften in the oven till tender, about 40-45 mins.

3. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and then collect all the tender pulp in a dish. Allow to cool for 10-15 mins.

4. Puree the pulp in a mixer. Add water as needed. The puree should be smooth and thick.

5. In a pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. When the oil is semi-hot, add Oregano and Tarragon. Stir to mix.

6. Bring the heat to medium-low and add the squash puree.

7. Add the remaining seasonings (salt, paprika, peppercorn, chilli powder, nutmeg).

8. Cook for 5-10 mins and then add the cream and butter. Cook for a few more minutes till you steady release of bubbles. I actually heard 'pops' because my soup was pretty thick :)

9. Remove from the gas and have it HOT!!! The sour cream in the picture seen below is purely for garnishing....or is it ;) ?

We had our soup with some baguette smeared with the leftover pesto, drizzled with grated mozzarella and then toasted in the oven at 375C for 10 mins till the cheese melted. Good stuff.....good times :)