Potato Fennel Pizza

Our newsletter had this series of recipes so I decided to give them a try.

Deborah’s Fried Potatoes and Fennel

2# Potatoes
2 bulbs fennel (I had only one bulb of fennel)
2-3 Tbsp oil
2 garlic scapes (I subbed a clove of garlic)
salt & pepper

Slice potatoes into thin rounds. Trim the ends and the stems from fennel; cut the bulb into thin julienne. Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté the potatoes with fennel, garlic, salt & pepper until golden brown.

I grated the potatoes to make them thinner and then stuck them in the colander to get some of the excess moisture out of there so they'd cook up a bit more crispy.


Quick Pizza Dough

1 tbsp yeast
1 C warm water
3 C flour (I used 2 c bread flour, 1 c whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt

Blend four, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl or food processor. Mix in water and oil to make kneadable dough. Use a bit more water or flour to get the right consistency. Knead 10 minutes by mixer or hand, one minute by processor. Set aside to rise one hour.

8/20/08 Update. I made this with all white flour and used 1 1/2 tsp of salt. I also made it in the morning and let it rise, punched it down and tossed it into the refrigerator. MUCH IMPROVED!


Potato and Arugula Pizza

1 recipe of pizza dough
1 recipe fried potatoes and fennel
¼ cup arugula pesto
1 tomato, cut into thin wedges or small chunks
grated cheese of your choice

Divide the dough into 2 portions and form into pizzas. Par-bake briefly to set, then spread with arugula pesto. Top with potatoes, fennel, tomatoes and grated cheese. Grill or bake until toasty, bubbly and melted.


This is pizza so of course I changed it. The tomato didn't sound good on there so I made a salad and put the tomato in the salad instead. I used a mix of mozz, parm, and sharp cheddar and of course I used a lot of it. I added some fresh basil from the garden right over the pesto layer. I formed the dough on parchment for easy handling and I baked the pizzas a 500 degree oven on a baking stone. I par-baked the crusts for five minute and the pizzas took an additional 7 minutes.


Verdict:

Generally positive all the way around although we all agreed a basil pesto would have given it a nicer flavor.

The potato/fennel mix was excellent!

The crust was ok but seemed like a quick crust, not a lot of chew to it.