Thursday, February 6, 2014

"River Cottage Veg Everyday" - Kale (spinach) and onion pizza


For today´s recipe in my River Cottage Veg Everyday series, I chose the "Kale (spinach) and onion pizza". This lovely dish is the fiftteenth post in my series.

This is a homemade pizza that will get your family in the mood for comfort food
Für meinen heutigen Blogpost in meiner River Cottage Veg Everyday Serie habe ich eine Grünkohl (Spinat) Pizza ausgesucht. Dieses leckere Rezept ist der fünfzehnte Beitrag in meiner Serie.

Eine selbstgemachte Pizza, die sicherlich der ganzen Familie schmecken wird.




This is a two-step recipe. First, you will have to prepare the pizza dough – easy enough as there is a wonderful recipe for the so-called “magic bread dough” in the book. This dough will be sufficient for three pizzas – since I have numerous eager taste testers at home, I usually make one rather large pizza and end up using about two thirds of the dough and then freeze the rest. Besides, I love using my large vintage pizza pan. As the dough is made half with strong flour and half with plain flour,  it is just perfect for any pizza recipe.
Diese grüne Pizza wird in zwei Schritten zubereitet. Zuerst macht man einen Pizzateig – das ist ziemlich unkompliziert, denn es gibt ein wunderbares Rezept für den so genannten "magic bread dough" in dem Buch. Der fertige Teig ist ausreichend für drei Pizzen - da es uns an an bereitwilligen Geschmackstestern nicht mangelt, mache ich in der Regel mit zwei Dritteln das Teigs eine ziemlich große Pizza und friere dann den Rest ein. Der Teig wird zur Hälfte mit Weizenmehl Typ 1050 und zur Hälfte mit Weizenmehl Typ 550 gemacht.




Once you have your pizza dough at the ready, it is time to prepare the topping. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall comments that “(t)here is no tomato here because I like to emphasise the more unusual flavor of the kale”. I prepared this recipe using kale and another one using spinach – the younger members in the family definitely prefer the fresh spinach version. But I know that there are a lot of kale lovers out there, so just use the vegetable that you prefer, this pizza will be delcicious no matter which greens you use as a topping.
Wenn der Pizzateig fertig ist und weiter verarbeitete werden kann, sollte man sich an die Zubereitung des Belags machen. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall kommentiert sein Rezept mit den folgenden Worten: "hier werden keine Tomaten verwendet, da sonst der eher ungewöhnliche Geschmack des Grünkohls nicht zur Geltung kommt". Ich habe dieses Rezept mit Grünkohl sowohl als auch mit frischem Spinat zubereitet und obwohl beide Gemüse ganz wunderbar auf der Pizza schmecken, bevorzugen meine jüngeren Esser doch die Spinatversion.





For the topping, all you need to do is sauté sliced onions (I used two medium ones), add some garlic (I used two cloves), sauté some more, then add the chopped greens and cook for about five minutes. While the recips calls for about 300 grams kale for a small pizza, I used about 1000 grams fresh spinach for my large version. Do not forget to season with fine sea salt and some freshly ground pepper – taste the veggies before adding them to the pizza. Roll out your pizza dough and transfer to a baking sheet or pizza stone, if you own one. Then add the prepared topping, sprinkle with some grated cheddar cheese, trickle some olive oil over the top and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
Für den grünen Belag sautiert man zwei mittelgroße Zwiebeln, fügt zwei Knoblauchzehen hinzu, sautiert das Ganze noch etwas, dann fügt man den vorbereiteten Grünkohl oder Spinat hinzu, (bei mir waren es etwa 1000 Gramm) und läßt das Gemüse kurz garen. Nicht vergessen alles mit feinem Meersalz und etwas frisch gemahlenem Pfeffer zu würzen und unbedingt zu probieren bevor es auf den Pizzateig kommt. Den Pizzateig ausrollen und auf ein Backblech oder einen Pizzastein geben. Dann den Belag gleichmäßig auf dem Teig verteilen, mit etwas geriebenem Cheddarkäse bestreuen, ein wenig Olivenöl über die Pizza träufeln und für zirka 10 bis 15 Minuten im vorgeheizten Ofen backen.




Other than using more greens, I did not change the recipe. I just felt that particularly at this time of year we need to add as much green veggies to our diets as we can and decided to add a larger quantity to our pizza than is called for in the book. And looking at the vast pile of greens at the green grocer, I could not resist and bought double than what is suggested in the recipe.

We really enjoyed this green pizza, with kale or with spinach – it tastes incredibly good and all you need are very few ingredients – should you be pressed for time, you could also easily substitute store-bought ready-made pizza dough for the "magic bread dough".

If you own the English edition of this family friendly vegetable cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, called "River Cottage Veg Everyday", you will find the recipe for the “Magic bread dough” on page 172 and the recipe for “Kale and onion pizza” on page 186 in the chapter on "Bready Things".
Außer das der Belag etwas mehr als angeben war, habe ich das Rezept nicht verändert. Zu dieser Jahreszeit kann etwas mehr Gemüse nicht schaden. Und mit Blick auf den riesigen Haufen von frischem grünem Blattgemüse beim Gemüsehändler, konnte ich nicht widerstehen und habe eben etwas mehr gekauft als nötig.

Uns allen hat diese grüne Pizza, mit Grünkohl oder mit Spinat, unglaublich gut geschmeckt. Und alles was man für die Zubereitung braucht, sind ein paar wenige Zutaten. Falls es mal besonders schnell gehen muss, kann dann durchaus auch mal fertigen Pizzateig verwenden.

Wer die englische Ausgabe dieses familienfreundlichen Gemüsekochbuch von Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall mit dem Titel "River Cottage Veg Everyday" in seiner Kochbuchsammlung hat, findet das Rezept für den "Magic Bread Dough" auf Seite 172 und das Rezept für die "Kale and onion pizza" auf Seite 186 in dem Kapitel "Bready Things".


30 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I bet this is really tasty, and I adore that pan!

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    1. Cara Adri, this green Pizza with onion and spinach or kale is very tasty indeed. Different, easy and delicious - the kids loved this recipe - what more could one ask for?!

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  2. Looks delicious, Andrea doll. Hope you're feeling great again! xoxo

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    1. Colette, eating Pizzas loaded with tons of spinach certainly helps quite a bit! Thanks for the comment!

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  3. I love that cookbook! And this pizza looks terrific.

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    1. Beth, the cookbook is presently one of my go-to-for-fabulous-veg-recipes source. We have really enjoyed all the recipes so far.

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    1. Kim, just trying to eat as healthy as possible these days. Pizza loaded with spinach is certainly delicious and we really enjoyed this one.

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    1. Cheri, glad that you enjoyed this post and the photos! Thank you for stopping by!

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  6. Hello my dear! We don't eat enough kale, so I'm glad to find a beautiful recipe idea to feature it! This looks so delicious. Thank you for sharing, Andrea. Hugs to you and your sweet family!

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    1. Monet, spinach and kale are equally wonderful on this pizza but the younger taste testers certainly prefer the spinach version! Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. This is beautiful, Andrea! We have been eating kale salads lately, so it will be fun to try a recipe where it is cooked! Also, I will open up the book for the "Magic Bread Dough" recipe. Love your vintage pan, too! The photos? As always ausgezeichnet! ~ David

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    1. David, thanks for commenting on my photos - always really like it when I get friendly compliments with respects to them! Do open up the book - and ifyou have the time make sure to try the recipe while the season for kale lasts (it is coming to an end around here). Thank you so much for the comment, dear friend!

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  8. Pizza is my favorite dinner but I always feel a bit guilty making it. You've solved the problem Andrea, this sounds wonderful!

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    1. Dear Chris, no reason to feel guilty about eating this healthy pizza!

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  9. this sounds SO good - I LOVE the River cottage veg and you're done such a great job with this - delicious!
    Mary x

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    1. Mary, the whole River Cottage Veg book is chock full of wonderful vegetable recipes - I am making a soup today form the book - thank you for the lovely comment!

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  10. Dear Andrea, we are kale lovers in this family do we'd enjoy this. It looks wonderful, simple yet homey. I almost love pizza with these kind of topping more than the traditional....though, I love traditional too :) Hope you are well, my dear. xx

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    1. Nazneen, could not agree with you more - these are my very favorite types of pizza, loaded with seasonal vegetables. I am just glad that I have successfully convinced the kids to love these kinds of pizzas as well. Thank you for the nice comment!

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  11. I love the vintage pan as well - simply awesome. I would be with the smaller taste testers in your family and have the spinach version :)

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    1. Karen, same here - I prefer the spinach version too - we ate quite a bit of kale when we were younger and these days I rather have a ton of lovely spinach on my green pizza! Thanks for dropping by!

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  12. Andrea diese Pizza sieht köstlich aus.
    Muss unbedingt beide Versionen- mit Grünkohl und mit Spinat ausprobieren.
    Freu' mich schon darauf:)

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    1. Daniela, beide Versionen schmecken köstlich - aber da es ja nicht immer Grühkohl gibt, ist Spinat eine tolle Alternative - und nicht alle mögen Grünkohl auf der Pizza aber all bei uns haben sich über die Spinatpizza hegemacht! Ein tolles Rezept!

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  13. Let me just say - YUM! What a fantastic way to use kale! I have heaps in my fridge at the moment so I might just try this tonight... do you need to squeeze any of the moisture out of the greens or can you just add them straight onto the base? xx

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    1. Dear Laura, the recipe states the following: "For the topping heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onions. Once sizzling, lower the heat and cook gently until golden, adding the garlic halfway through. Shred the kale or cavolo nero, stir into the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Tip the dough on to a lightly floured surface and deflate. Leave to rest for a few minutes, then cut into 3 portions. Roll out one piece as thinly as you can and place on a floured baking sheet. Spread with a third of the kale and onions, and top with a third of the cheddar. Lay the baking sheet on top of the hot one that's already in the oven, trickle with oil and bake for 10–12 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough, topping and cheese, and serve."

      According to the recipe no need to squeeze out the moisture BUT if there is any, I always drain it off - since there is always water clinging to the green after a good wash, there always will be some moisture even after cooking - so I would suggest to drain!

      Hope that helps - if you need more info, just let me know!

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  14. I love that you have been sharing theses delicious recipes from River Cottage. You present great ideas on how to get more vegetables into a meal. It is especially nice since your little ones enjoy them so much. I make a similar pizza and add olives to the spinach.

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    1. Karen, thank you so much - this is a fun project so far and it helps to have supportive taste testers in the family - they really like vegetables, particularly fresh spinach and we are lucky to be able to find some really nice spinach from Italy these days.

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  15. I believe I would prefer the spinach version instead of the kale. I have never cooked with kale but understand there are a few steps to go through before the kale is ready to be cooked. So the spinach version it will be. Glad to have the pizza recipe.

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    1. Mary, spinach it is for us - the kids much prefer that version and so do we - this is an utterly delicious recipe, I just loved making it and loved eating it even more.

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