THE SWEET TASTE OF SUMMER
Whether the pie is made with a from-scratch shell or slice of Italian bread, it can accommodate any type of seasonal topping
It doesn’t take much to transform a workaday weekday into one that feels like a notable weekend. The smell of marinated meat searing on the grill makes Wednesday night feel like Friday night. The vision of a crisp, cool salad with fruit and greens from the farmers market turns back the clock from Monday to Sunday afternoon.
Few would argue with the notion that summer is all about backyard barbecue and salad on the deck. But, even the best and brightest of anything can become a bit dull.
An easy way to add a spark to the summertime mealtime lineup is to switch out the plate beneath the grilled meats and the bowl that’s cradling the salad. So how about using a pizza shell in place of the dishes?
With a slight adjustment to your thinking, pizza can become the figurative and literal foundation to a scrumptious meal that builds on the traditional seasonal pleasures of local produce and barbecued proteins.
Whether it’s a crispy flat shell you make in minutes yourself, a storebought disk of dough you bake off or an airy ciabatta toasted in the oven and then topped, you need work backward from your favorite summer barbecue and salad recipes to set the table with a fresh idea for dinner.
In other words, if you’re planning to break out the charcoal grill for barbecued chicken one night, make extra and save the pickings for a pizza topping. If you're going to mix the greens for a big salad one day, why not leave a few handfuls undressed and use them the next night on your salad pizza.
There’s not a supermarket that doesn’t sell prepared shells that can be doctored to make them closer to homemade. For instance, sprinkle the baking pan with cornmeal, brush both the top and bottom of the pizza shell with your favorite olive oil (I prefer one without the “extra” pressings for its fruitier, more pungent taste), sprinkle the top with salt and pepper and bake in a hot oven. Another option is to toast a crusty bread loaf — an Italian focaccia or a French baguette. Cut the loaves lengthwise, brush with olive oil, and toast in a hot oven.
Always cool the yeasty base before
topping it. If you don't cool first, the topping can make the pizza soggy, especially if it involves sauce.
It’s also easy to make pizza dough from scratch by hand. In his book, “Pizza,” James McNair says start off by combining yeast, warm water and sugar and allow the mixture to stand to proof. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl and create a well in the middle. Add the yeast mixture into the well. Vigorously stir the flour with a wooden spoon into the well, beginning in the center and working toward the sides of the bowl, until the soft dough just begins to hold together.
Knead the dough onto a lightly floured surface, by pressing down on it with the heels of your hands and pushing it away from you. Then partially fold it back over itself. Continue kneading until the dough is elastic and shinny and feels smooth and springy. Too much kneading will overdevelop the gluten in the flour and result in a tough crust, Mr. McNair says.
There are many recipes to make a pizza crust from the Neapolitan thin to Chicago thick. Some are baked on on terracotta slabs and others in special round deep pans.
The most important step to take, though, is the first one: Think of your pizza shell as a plate, bowl or the bottom of a open-faced sandwich. Then move forward with whatever sounds good for supper.