We Made Kale Pizza

A few Saturdays ago Hill and Amy came over and we made pizza. Hill had the great idea to put kale on top!

I know this is my third post in the last month about greens - after the kale salad and collards posts - but hear me out. Kale on a pizza is delicious. I will post about something completely different next time.

Here's what you need:

Ingredients

I bought pizza dough at the pizza place near my house. (One day maybe I will make my own, one day.)
1 large can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1 bunch lacinato kale
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese - smoked mozzarella would be great too
grated Parmesan, salt, pepper to taste
olive oil (for kale)
We also used these toppings - fresh tomatoes, chicken red pepper sausage (OPTIONAL)

Preheat your oven to 400-450 degrees.

Form your dough into a flat circle - it should probably seem TOO flat, as it puffs up a bit in the oven. If you have too much, set it aside for pizza #2!
(We formed the dough into two pies - one was large and very flat, and one was a bit thicker and more free form.)


Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the dough, along with some salt and pepper. Slice the mozzarella cheese thinly and layer it on.

If using other toppings like tomatos or sausage, layer it over the cheese. (Although our sausage was pre-cooked, we sauteed it for a few minutes in a pan with some olive oil to get it a bit crispy before layering it on.)

Wash the kale well and remove the thick stems/stalks, leaving only the soft leaves. Chop roughly and toss in a light coat of olive oil and layer over the pizza. It REALLY cooks down in the oven, so don't be stingy, even if the leaves seem to be over flowing from the dough.

Grate some Parmesan cheese and sprinkle salt and pepper over the kale.





Put it in the oven!! Depending on your oven, probably needs to bake for a different amount of time. Keep an eye on it. You want the kale to brown a bit and get crispy, but not burn. It comes out looking like this:






This goes really well with some cold beer.

I know it sounds crazy, but I was so into this crispy kale topping that I ended up making a baked pasta dish later in the week, and instead of topping it with cheese, I topped it with more kale. I baked it and it gave me the same results - crispy and tasty.

I guess the moral of the story is, don't feel weird about putting chopped up kale on top of everything you bake. (OK, almost everything.)

I made (controversial?) Lasagna

Hi! I have not posted in a while! But I do have some catch up posts to share with everyone soon....

To start off, I thought I would just do a real quick post about something I made this past Sunday.

Lasagna is something that I am positive everyone on this blog has made a billion times, so maybe it is silly to even post a recipe? I am sure everyone has their own favorite recipes and techniques. BUT I added one possibly controversial ingredient to the mix. TOFU. Instead of Ricotta cheese. Lots of folks (vegans) have done this before, but if you read on you will see that my version is NOT vegan! (There is mozzarella cheese.) So don't panic.

My logic was simply:

I love lasagna, but I wanted to make something I could bring to work for lunch that wouldn't be too rich. The tofu makes the dish lighter, and the added protein ensures that I will not fall asleep at my desk after I eat it.

OK here is the recipe.

Veggie Lasagna with Tofu

What you need:

TOMATO SAUCE - Obv. I endorse the recipe Joey posted here. I made a shorthand sauce this time though, with the following:

1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste (add to your liking)
garlic, onion, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (add to your liking)
Let that simmer as long as you can. (If you want to use pre-made sauce, totally do it. I am not hating on pre-made sauce, it is awesome.)

Lasagna noodles: Of course fresh pasta is the most delicious. I didn't go that route though, and I used the "De Boles" brand, which you boil first before using. I am not a fan of the 'no bake' noodles.

For the filling:
Fresh Mozzarella cheese
Basil
1 package firm tofu
Veggies - I used cremini mushrooms and spinach, two of my faves. Any type of vegetable you want to throw into the mix is fine....peppers, zucchini, carrots, kale.....??

WHAT TO DO:
Get the sauce going first, so it has time to simmer.

Then take your tofu out of the package, and put in on a large plate. Place a layer of plastic wrap on top, and then balance something heavy on top (a heavy book or large bag of flour, etc.) so that you can drain out all the moisture (a la this Tofu Scramble I made). Do this for a few minutes, draining the excess water from the plate periodically, until most of the water seems to be drained from the tofu.

Chop/saute all your veggies with salt+pepper (and more garlic/onion if you like) and set aside.

Crumble the tofu until it is in small "cheese-like" crumbles. In a large bowl, combine with the sauteed vegetables.

Chop up your mozzarella cheese in thin slices.

Then, in a casserole dish, layer some sauce, some noodles, some veggie/tofu mixture, some cheese + basil leaves, more sauce, more noodles, etc. Be liberal with the salt + paper in between layers too- tofu doesn't have salt like ricotta cheese does, so it needs a bit.

Bake, covered in foil, at 375 for about 30 minutes, and then another 10 minutes at 350 degrees, uncovered. (Or a bit more/less - depending on your oven!)


So...there you have it. I hope I have not offended any lasagna purists out there!

The next photo shows how Jed enjoyed a slice for an early dinner the next day: