White Chicken Pizza

A while back I ate a pizza with a white sauce and I was delighted with it. Don't get me wrong I love "normal" pizza, with tomato sauce. But this was something new, something different. And as is mostly the case, I wanted to do it myself. I had some research to do, but as you can see I managed it in the end.

As regards to the taste it turned out a little Indian stlye, what with all the curry and masala. But it goes well with the red onions and the corn.

I have a huge cookbook full with Italian dishes. And I think I only cooked about 1% (but in my defence it's like 300 recipes and I have so many other cookbooks and lets not start with all the bookmarks I have saved on my laptop). So I thought before I create extra work for myself I just use the pizza dough in that book.
The end result was ok, but it didn't enthrall me. The fault does not necessarily lie with the recipe. I'm kind of at war with yeast. I just can't stay away from it even if more often then not the whole thing ends with frustration.
Or maybe I just want a dough that's as good as that of a stone-baked pizza. Yeah, good luck with that.

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White Chicken Pizza

Dough

10 g dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 pinch sugar
1 tsp salt
3-3 1/2 cups flour

1. Warm a bowl by swirling some hot water in it. Drain it again afterwards.
2. Put the yeast in the bowl. Pour the water in.
3. Add the sugar and use a fork to stir it in.
4. Put the bowl aside for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam.
5. With a wooden spoon mix in the salt and about 1/3 of the flour.
6. Add another 1/3 of the flour. Mix with the spoon until the dough starts to form a mass and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
7. Sprinkle some of the flour on a smooth surface. Place the dough on it and start kneading.
8. Add a little of the flour at a time and work it in.
9. After kneading the flour for 8-10 minutes the dough should be smooth and elastic. Form the dough to a ball.
10. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough into the bowl.
11. Dampen a clean towel and wring it out. Stretch it over the bowl.
12. Leave the bowl in a warm place for about 40-50 minutes. The dough should have doubled in volume. To test wether the dough is ready, poke two fingers into it. If the indentations remain your good to go. Make sure the place is not to hot, no more than 37°C/100°F.
13. Use your fist to punch out the air out of the dough. Afterwards knead the dough for 1-2 minutes.
14. Place baking parchment on a baking sheet. Oil it lightly.
15. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin.
16. Transfer the dough onto the baking sheet.
17. Press some of the dough from the middle towards the edge, to make a thicker rim.

Topping

1 red onion
125 g mozzarella
1/2 cup corn
300 g chicken breast fillet
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp curry
1/8 tsp masala
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Peel the onion. Cut it in half lengthwise, then cut the two halves into thin slices.
2. Grate the mozzarella.
3. Use a colander to drain the corn.
4. Cut the chicken into thin short stripes.
5. Season with salt, pepper, curry and masala.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
7. Fry the chicken stripes in it. It should be done but only just. Or it will be too dry after it gets out of the oven.

Sauce

2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup parmesan
30 g butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp curry
1 tsp masala

1. Peel the gralic. Mince it afterwards.
2. Grate the parmesan.
3. Let the butter melt in a sauce pan by medium heat.
4. Add flour and whisk it in until there are no more lumps.
5. Gradually add the milk. Whisk constantly.
6. Mix in garlic, salt, pepper, curry and masala.
7. Add the parmesan. Whisk it in until it's melted.
8. Take the pan of the stove. Let it cool down a little so it will thicken.

To Assemble

1. Pre-heat the oven to 250°C/480°F.
2. Spread the still warm sauce evenly on the dough.
3. Scatter the onions, the corn and the chicken on top.
4. Cover everything with the mozzarella.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Bon appétit!!

Vegetable Noodle Soup Italian Style

I think this is my favorite summer soup. For one it tastes great, so italian, for another the most important ingredients, the zucchini and tomatoes, grow in my parents garden.

The original recipe is in german. The webside LECKER.de is one of my favorite german cooking and recipe sides. They have lots of tasty dishes. When I need a recipe for one ingredient this is one of the websides I consult.

I made it a few times over the summer. It's pretty easy to make. And even if you don't follow the recipe to closely it still tastes great.

It tastes best with bread, the chesse muffins for example, and some crème fraîche.

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Vegetable Noodle Soup Italian Style

3 onions
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
1 zucchini
2 beef tomatoes or bulls heart tomatoes
180 g pasta, small
2 tbsp tomato paste
1,5 l vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch of parsley
4 tsp thyme, dry
salt
pepper

1. Skin the onions and garlic cloves.
2. Mince the garlic.
3. Cube the onions.
4. Peel the carrots. Cut them into 3-4 mm thick slices.
5. Wash and dry the zucchini and the tomatoes.
6. Cut the zucchini into 5-6 mm thick slices. Quarter the slices.
7. Cut the tomatoes into rather big cubes.
8. Heat the oil in a big sauce pan.
9. Braise the onions and the garlic in it until the onions turn translucent.
10. Add the carrots and the zucchini and braise them for about 8 minutes.
11. Add the tomato paste and let it sweat a little.
12. Add the tomatoes and mix them in.
13. Add the vegetable broth and bring it to a boil.
14. Add the pasta.
15. Let the soup boil at a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
16. In the mean time chop the parsley.
17. Add the parsley and the thyme at the end.
18. Season with salt and pepper.
 

Bon appétit!!