Polenta Crust Veggie Pizza

Saturday was a cold and windy day.  It was one of those days that makes you want to stay in your jammies, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket in front of the tv.  One of those days that makes you forget fresh green salads and spring fruit and yearn for good ol' fashion comfort food...with a twist. 

 

As much as I love a classic style pizza I decided I wanted to try making a pizza using a polenta crust as the base.  I have seen two types of polenta, one that is more like a cornmeal mush and one that will set up firmly and can be cut into slices.  For this pizza, I obviously chose the second method and got to work.  Now this pizza takes a little getting used to.  At first bite, you might be a bit surprised at the soft texture.  I found it was also very filling, even more so that regular pizza.  I will list the toppings I used, as well.  However, this crust would pair perfectly with any pizza topping that you fancy.

 

Polenta Crust Veggie Pizza 

Ingredients:
Crust
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. water
2 1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. garlic salt 
Toppings 
1/2 c. pizza sauce
1 small eggplant
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
olive oil for cooking veggies
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles

Start by preparing your veggies.  Slice zucchini and squash into thin disks.  Now for the eggplant.  There are many ways to prepare eggplant but most people will agree you need to draw out the extra water, which also removes some of the bitterness of the plant.  I sprinkled each slice with salt and placed between layers of paper towel with a heavy baking sheet on top.  I left it sit like this until my crust was in the oven.  

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In medium saucepan, combine cornmeal and water.  Whisk until well blended.  Add milk and garlic salt.  Mix well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly (be sure you reach the bottom of the pan or mixture will start to stick).  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until mixture is very think, stirring frequently.

Side note: I like that my pots have clear lids so I can see what's going on in there!

Looks kinda like scrambled eggs when it's done.

Remove polenta from heat and use a rubber spatula to quickly spread onto a baking sheet lined with a silpat.  I tried to make mine as thin as possible since I knew it would be filling and that I still had to add toppings.

 

Bake for 10-15 minutes until polenta is set.  It will still be "soft" compared to regular pizza crust but it will be solid enough to cut through.  

In the meantime, cook your veggies.  Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a pan and add your slices of eggplant.  Cook for about 5 minutes on each side until eggplant softens.  Remove eggplant to more layers of paper towel to draw out excess olive oil.  Add more olive oil to your pan and cook up the zucchini and squash until soft.  

Spread 1/2 c. pizza sauce over your polenta crust and top with veggies and cheeses.  

 

I tried this sauce from Local Folks Foods.  It has a great zesty flavor!

Bake for another 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.  Remove from oven and let set for about 5-10 before digging in.  

 

Enjoy! 

St. Louis Foodie Finds: Chava's Mexican Restaurant

One aspect of St. Louis that Greg and I are most excited about is the abundance of unique restaurants that seem to pop up no matter what neighborhood we venture out to.  People who know me "in real life" know that I have a slight obsession with Mexican food.  And I don't discriminate, my dirty little secret - I love Taco Bell.  There, I said it, the el gato is out of the bag.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about.  I am here to tell you about a much, much, much better Mexican food eating experience.  I was going through a bit of withdrawal because I hadn't eaten Mexican since we went out with friends before leaving Milwaukee over a month ago.  So, we did a little research and settled on Chava's.

Located in the bustling Soulard area, Chava's has a prime corner location with plentiful outdoor seating available on the front and side.  One section is covered with a canopy and twinkling lights, perfect for a special birthday celebration or just a fun night out on the town.  Greg and I chose to venture inside as it was already cooling off and we got a great table for two next to the window.

We were greeted with a basket of warm tortilla chips and a bowl of smoky, spicy salsa.  It was all I could do not to down the whole basket and call it a day!  Next, we settled on an appetizer of jenas - baked jalapenos stuffed with Mexican sausage (chorizo?) and cheese.  Normally, I would go straight for the guacamole or queso dip but I was really happy I tried something new.  These were incredible and not at all greasy or over-filling.  Just enough to get me ready for the main event, steak fajitas.

The meat was marinated and cooked until tender and the plate was overflowing with grilled peppers, onions and all the fixins'.  The only thing that could have made my meal even better is if it was served on one of those piping hot skillets that keeps them sizzling while you build your fajita.

Luckily I have a husband who likes to share because he chose the pork tamales which were delicious.  Steamed in corn husks and smothered in salsa verde and melted cheese, the tamales were a winning combination.  We only wish we had saved room for dessert, fried cheesecake, what?!

I am really excited to return to this restaurant, after reading their website I learned they are famous for their El Mireko (ranchero chicken burritos flash fried and topped with chile con queso) and their fish tacos.  I also think the fried tacos sound good (have you noticed I gravitate toward anything fried?).

Sorry I did not include any photos.  I really prefer to enjoy the dining experience without stopping to take pictures!  But check out their website for pics and more information.

Chava's Mexican Restaurant
925 Geyer Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63104 
(314) 241-5503

Classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 

This is the best pie I've ever tasted.  I remember the first time I ever tasted it, a coworker had brought it in to work to share.  How generous, knowing now how good it is I would have kept the whole thing to myself.  But from that moment on I persistently nagged him for about a month straight until he finally got sick of hearing me, or really wanted some more strawberry rhubarb pie, and sent the recipe my way.  

Never having much pie success in the past, or more specifically pie crust success, I decided I was going to give this pie my all and make it for Greg's birthday.  That was two years ago and I have since recreated this pie numerous times.  This pie is like the security blanket you keep with you no matter where you go.  It's like a trusty friend who you know will never let you down.  What I'm trying to say is, use this recipe when you don't want to stress about the outcome, because even when it's bad, it's still good!  

So naturally, when we decided to have friends over last night, I settled on burgers, oven baked potato wedges, and my best friend, strawberry rhubarb pie.

Since those first attempts at making the perfect pie crust, I have learned several secrets that make success a bit more certain.  Granted, I still have my days when, for the life of me, I cannot get the crust to turn out (I think sometimes it has to do with humidity and things like that, that's what I tell myself anyway), but here are a couple tricks that seem to help:

1. Cold ingredients, even frozen!  Putting everything in the freezer prior to mixing (even your flour!) is a good start to making the perfect, buttery, flaky crust.

2. Don't mess with the dough too much.  It is perfectly acceptable to see bits of butter and shortening throughout your dough.  These will eventually melt into beautiful bites of flaky goodness. 

3.  Use a food processor or stand mixer to make your crust.  They are quick, hence your ingredients remain cold.

With these few tricks up your sleeve, let's get started.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

recipe can be found on Epicurious

Ingredients:

For crust 

3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

10 tablespoons (about) ice water

For filling
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed) I couldn't find fresh so I used frozen and it worked fine
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Make crust:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. 

 

What, doesn't everyone have a shelf in their freezer filled with chunks of butter and shortening?

Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.) 

 

Make filling:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend. 

 

Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish.   

 

Trick: Drape your crust over your rolling pin to prevent tears.

Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips.  I use a pizza cutter but a regular knife would work too. 

Spoon filling into crust. Now comes the tricky part, making the lattice top.  Here is a YouTube video showing how to do it, once you see how it's done, you will find it isn't really that bad.  If you are still nervous about trying it on your actual pie, you can practice with strips of paper first.  Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. 

 

Trick: Use every other strip so that you will still have the correct lengths to go the other way.

Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. 

 

Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. 

 

This is why you put your pie on a baking sheet!

Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Enjoy with someone you love!