Meatless Monday
We’ve all heard the stats about how much reducing your meat consumption can lead to a lowered carbon footprint, so I try to make three days a week fully vegetarian, when I’m feeling ambitious I aim for vegan 1-2 of those days. It’s not hard, it’s just breaking the patterns that you can find yourself in.
So. It’s Monday, and while vegetarian my day’s food consisted of plain oatmeal and a handful of popcorn. So I’m splurging.
Four Cheese Pizza.
It is my very favourite kind of pizza, and it is always intrinsically tied to winter for me.
My and my siblings truly embodying the 90s!
When we were kids there was a restaurant at the bottom of the hill where we would ski when we went on vacation and they made an unbelievably good Quatro Fromaggi pizza. It might have been being with my family, or the sunshine on the cold patio, or how absolutely famished we were after racing down the mountain, but to this day I’ve never had a four cheese pizza that was quite as good.
Having said that I haven’t stopped trying to find one!
My homemade version is pretty good - but there are somethings you just can’t replicate in a condo, like the heat and slight smoke of a true pizza oven.
Start with the cheese - I use a combo of
Fiora di latte Mozzarella (~75g)
Gorgonzola (~50g)
Fontina (~75g)
Parmigiano Reggiano (~30g)
For pizza dough you can make your own, but it’s Monday so I stopped by the supermarket and picked up some pre made dough.
I crank up the oven as high as it will go (525*) once it’s hot I put my pizza stone in to heat up.
Stretch out your dough as thin as you can get it, and pre slice/grate your cheese so you’re ready for assembly.
If you want more stress in your life, you can put the pizza together on the counter or a pizza paddle and the slip it onto the pizza stone. This can be done. It’s not impossible. There is an easier way!
I (carefully) pull the stone out of the oven and place it on the stove top. Working quickly I lay the dough on top and then sprinkle with cheese. The key is to sprinkle the fontina and parmesan first, then drop the gorgonzola and mozzarella evenly over the surface.
Then pop the whole thing in the oven for 7-9 minutes, till the crust is golden brown.
Pop it onto a cutting board and give it just a minute to cool before you cut or you a going to have a glacial cheese slide!
I just want pizza with all the cheese, is that so much to ask?
Normally I’d serve this with just some baby arugula tosses with a little lemon and olive oil, but today I amped up my salad game with some parmesan roasted mushrooms on top.
1 Pint of Oyster Mushrooms separated but whole
25g Parmigiano Reggiano
1 Tbsp of Panko
Salt to taste
Combine the panko and parmesan in a bowl and set aside.
Throw the mushrooms into a hot oven proof pan with a little olive oil sauté 1-2 minutes.
Sprinkle the mushrooms with the panko/parmesan mixture.
Pop the whole pan in the oven on broil for 1-3 minutes until they are crisp and brown. Serve onto of your favourite greens with a little lemon and olive oil.
