Friday, August 3, 2012

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Ok, I know I've already posted two pizzas, but it's one of my favorite foods.  This version was incredibly tasty.  Instead of summer squash, you could use a range of different veggies like tomato slices, zucchini, or broccoli, but having the extra veggie there helps cut some of the strong flavors in this pizza.



Ingredients


For the Chicken


1 large free-range organic chicken breast, cut into chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning

For the Pesto


1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the Pizza


1/2 batch of the dough recipe from here
1/2 cup grated italian cheese, I use the "Quattro Fromaggio" mix from Trader Joes
2 small summer squash, finely sliced
1 small yellow onion, cut in half and finely sliced


Method


1.  Combine all of the ingredients for the chicken into a zip lock bag, mix well, and allow to sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

2.  Put all of the ingredients for the pesto into a blender and pulse until mixed.  You may have to stir the ingredients around inside the blender to ensure all the basil leaves get mixed in.

3.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick pan at medium heat and add the marinated chicken.  Stir occasionally.  When the pieces are colored on all sides, remove from heat.

4.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Stretch out the dough using the technique detailed here.

5.  Spread some pesto onto the dough with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/2" border on all sides.  I ended up using about half of the pesto, leaving extra for another day.

6.  Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the pesto.

7.  Arrange the summer squash slices over the cheese.

8.  Add the chicken slices.  I aimed to place them between the summer squash slices.

9.  Sprinkle the onion pieces over the top.

10.  Cook the pizza for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then switch the oven to broil and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.

11.  Wait for 5-10 minutes before cutting the pizza.  Enjoy!



CSA Box #7

I'm pretty excited about the green peppers and eggplant this week.  Salad mix is also a really nice change from lettuce.  Yum!




This week's box contains:


Beets




Baby Bok Choi


Carrots


Eggplant


Green Kale


Two Bags of Salad Mix


Green Peppers


Green Chard


Peaches


Some Fun Veggie Ideas

Here are photos and descriptions of things I made before my trip to France.  Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly how I did any of this stuff, so no recipes.




Easy Zaatar-Style Flatbread




I took the leftover dough half from making this pizza out of the fridge and divided it into two halves, then left each on a floured surface for about 30 minutes to warm to room temperature.  I heated a large cast iron pan with some olive oil, then stretched out each dough and put one at a time into the hot pan.  I then sprinkled the surface with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dry thyme, salt, pepper, and more olive oil.  Flip it after one side is cooked, most of the spices should stay on the bread.  When it's cooked, remove from pan, let it cool for a few minutes, and enjoy!




Veggie Stir-Fry




I heated a nonstick pan and fried up some onions, then added zucchini.  After, I added leftover roasted new potatoes and fennel, plus some chopped collard greens.  The fennel had such a nice flavor that this didn't need much additional spice.  Yum.




Baked Polenta with Chard, Mushrooms, and Cheese




I more or less followed this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baked-Polenta-with-Swiss-Chard-and-Cheese-107270, except I used 1.5x the amount of polenta cooked in chicken broth, as well as added baby bella mushrooms.  The result was a bit bland, so I'd add a significant amount of fresh herbs next time.  I'm thinking thyme or oregano would work particularly well.

CSA Box #6

After taking a fantastic two week long trip to France, I've gotten a bit behind on posting.  Here's the box I received last week:


Last week's box contained:

Basil



Green Cabbage


Cucumbers


Red Chard


Red Oak Lettuce


Onions


Curly Parsley


Summer Squash


Sweet Corn


Peaches