So one of the best things in the world is coming home from a long day and having a delicious meal cooked for you. Earlier this month I did the Porter Flea in Nashville with Love Virginia Ruth and stayed at my aunt’s for the weekend. (Who is one of the most gracious hosts. She knows how to spoil a girl!) We had talked about going out to eat Saturday night (I mean food in Nashville is tempting…) but decided to stay in since she had food she could whip up for dinner. And that she did! For dinner, we had Spaghetti Squash Baby Cakes with Crispy Sage from My New Roots along with Sweet Potato, Feta, and Shiitake Packets from Vegetarian Times Magazine. For dessert, Ginger Lemon Trifle, also from Vegetarian Times Magazine. While eating the Sweet Potato and Shiitake Packet, I couldn’t help but want to make a pizza out of it. So pizza it became…
Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza:
- Thin crust pizza dough from Cooking Light
- Sweet Potato, Feta, and Shiitake mix – I made a couple of ever so slight alterations. One being that I substituted kale for Swiss chard. I used one bunch of kale (a lot more than 2 cups), 6 oz feta, and doubled the garlic. I did not opt for the mint, and although I did use dried oregano, I would have preferred to use the fresh from my garden. If you follow the instructions from the recipe as I did, you are going to have a ton left over. I went ahead and made the packets in addition to using the mixture for the pizza. It made 5 good-sized portions. Also, make sure to slice the sweet potato REALLY thin so that it will cook. I think it could have used a bit more lemon personally. (Not for the pizza, but in the packets.)
Follow instructions for making pizza dough. However, I do a couple of things differently. I do preheat the baking sheet while the oven is preheating, but I never precook the dough. With this recipe, I found that it makes it tough and chewy. Just not good. Also, I use olive oil to coat the bowl instead of cooking spray (which works too). I do not use the cornmeal. If you like the taste or have some on hand, feel free to use it. I just never have.
After the dough has chilled for an hour, remove from the fridge and roll out on floured surface. Roll to fit the sheet being used, whether round or rectangular. Remove baking sheet from the oven. Drizzle olive oil to thinly coat sheet. Transfer rolled out dough to hot baking sheet – just remember it is hot! (I cannot tell you how many times I have burnt my hands in the past.) Begin by drizzling a little bit of olive oil on the dough. Then cover pizza with the sweet potato mixture from above. Try to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Bake on middle rack for 10 minutes at 500, until the crust is starting to brown. Cover the pizza with aluminum foil and bake for another 4 minutes or until the sweet potatoes seem cooked. Enjoy!
addiah inspired 