Vegetable Pizza, also called Vegetable Pie

As I reported earlier, the Love of My Life is vegetarian. One of the easiest ways of satisfying her is with a vegetable pie (which includes pizza, which is still called 'tomato pie' in some places and 'pizza pie' in others). I can start a vegetable pie in the morning and serve it that night for the evening meal.

Here is the basic recipe. Variations will follow.

2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
less than a quarter teaspoon dry yeast
1 cup water

Different combinations of flour work. I have done extensive experimenting with flour combinations. As of this writing my preference is one cup of all-purpose flour, half a cup of whole wheat flour and half a cup of either semolina or soy flour. This combination is subject to change at a whim.

When you arise in the morning mix the dry ingredients. Add water and mix thoroughly into a ball of dough. Put the ball in a bowl and cover with a tight lid or a plastic bag. Let the dough rise until you return home at night.

One and a half hours** before you begin baking scrape the ball of dough off the sides of the bowl and fold it into itself several times. Place the ball in the Dutch oven in which you will bake the pie. Stretch out the dough so it fills the bottom of the baking container. I use spoons to stretch the dough. Fingers will also do the job. Cover with a non-fuzzy cotton cloth.

Fifteen minutes before you start baking, saute the veggie you will use until they are half done. The order should be: onions first, until translucent. Garlic for just a few minutes at the end of the cooking time for the onions. Then add the rest of the veggies, such as spinach or broccoli, and saute until half finished. If you are making tomato pizza you might not want to saute the thin tomato slices at all. You might want to marinate thin tomato slices in a jar starting in the morning when you start the dough preparation. Or you could use tomato sauce fresh-made or from a jar -- it's up to your taste and time. Never forget the garlic.

When you are ready to bake, add the veggies on top of the dough, which has been spread to fill the bottom of the Dutch oven. On top of the veggies place cheese, such as mozzarella or feta or whatever cheese goes well with the veggies you are cooking. You might also add olive slices or capers or other garnish. Add whatever herbs and spices suit your veggies, such as basil or creole spices.

Cover the Dutch oven and place in a 450 degree oven. Some people suggest a hotter oven for pizza. Bake for 15 minutes.

At the end of 15 minutes remove the Dutch oven lid. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 more minutes.

Remove from oven, place the finished pie on a cooling rack and let it cool down to whatever serving temperature you enjoy.

Variations:

Flour: I usually include some all-purpose flour, but it is not mandatory. Combine whatever flours you like so the final quantity is two cups. I have used semolina, whole wheat flour, soy flour and oats. Too much semolina or soy flour makes the dough too hard, so try to keep the proportion of these two choices to no more than a quarter of the total.

I sometimes use less than 2 cups of flour if I want a thinner dough. If I use less than 2 cups of flour I make each stage of heat (before and after the lid is taken off the Dutch oven) only 12 minutes.

Veggies: I have used both fresh and frozen spinach. Also rape and similar dark green leafy veggies. Broccoli is another regular on my list. I'm sure there are other veggies waiting to be tried.

If I make a pizza I use either sauce or fresh slices of tomato. If I use fresh slices, I also add fresh slices of other Italian-inspired veggies, such a red pepper or very thin slices of eggplant. Add sliced olives and/or capers. I prefer to add only basil as an herb, but that's just me. Oregano and rosemary and other traditional Italian spices are fine.

Mozzarella or feta melt well. Other cheeses could also work.

** I admit I've sometimes let the dough rest only for a half hour instead of one and a half hours.

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