PARSNIP AND CRISPY SAGE PIZZA WITH HERBED CRUST

 Happy Tuesday, lovelies! 

I don't tend to be one for long preambles to my recipes, so I'll just preface this one by saying that this pizza dough recipe has been tweaked and reworked a dozen times over the years, until it's bubbly and blistered, crunchy and packed with flavor - it's everything I could possibly want from a pizza coming out of my very own oven. 

This is infinitely adaptable, toppings-wise, but I'm listing the instructions here for a lovely variation we just had last night, created to use up a few monster parsnips and a few sprigs of sage that needed a home. But everything truly belongs on pizza - don't let anyone tell you that cranberries or pickles carrots or goat cheese or grapefruit or blueberries don't go on pizza, because I've had them all and they're amazing. 

Be prepared - you'll want to get started about two hours before you actually want to eat, and I've included two set of instructions based on whether or not you have a pizza stone. 

PARSNIP AND CRISPY SAGE PIZZA WITH HERBED CRUST

SERVINGS: One 12" pizza

TIME: 2 hours, mostly rise time

SOURCE: Yours truly

I have this whole process on an index card reduced to "Stir, knead 1-2, rise 1 hr., press, rise 20m, roll, top, & bake." This doesn't need to be complicated, but it is most certainly delicious, as well as infinitely adaptable. You can halve this recipe to make one personal-sized 10" pizza, or double it to make two large pizzas that will feed four people. 

CRUST

    3/4 Cup Extra Hot Water (plus more as needed) 

    2 tsps Dried herbs of your choice (I typically use a blend of red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, and sometimes rosemary, depending on the toppings) 

    2 1/4 Cups AP flour (may sub up to half with Whole Wheat Flour, but it will need more water) 

    3/4 tsp Salt

    3/4 tsp Sugar

    1 plus 1/8 tsp Active Dry Yeast 

    2 Tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil

PARSNIP & SAGE TOPPING

    3 large Parsnips, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly

    1/2 small Red Onion, thinly sliced

    4 Tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil, separated

    Leaves from 1/2 oz. fresh Sage

    Salt & Pepper to taste

FOR THE CRUST

    Add the herbs to the bottom of a small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, and pour the hot water over them. Allow the water to cool at least until it's just barely warmer than boy temperature, but longer is fine. 

    In the meantime, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, adding the yeast and salt on opposite sides of the bowl so the salt doesn't retard the yeast's growth. Whisk to combine. 

    Once the water is cooled to the point where it won't kill the yeast, pour it over the top of the dry ingredients, followed by the oil. With your hands or a sturdy spoon, mix together to form a sturdy dough. You may need to add a couple of additional tablespoons of water to get it to come together. Knead in the bowl or on the counter for just a minute or two (or a bit longer if you like your crusts particularly chewy), and then lift it out, give the bowl a quick spritz on non-stick spray (or a light coating of olive oil) and put the dough back into the bowl. Give it a quick turn to coat the outside in the oil, cover with a clean dishtowel, and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour. This is a great time to prep your toppings. 

    After an hour, it should be quite puffy and not quite doubled. Move your pizza stone to about 6" below the top of the oven, and turn your broiler on high to preheat (broilers are very different, so this is what works for my oven - there are instructions below for if you don't have a pizza stone and/or this is too scary*). Press all the air out of the dough, knead it just a couple more times, and then let rise for another 20 minutes. 

    Lay out a square of parchment paper on the countertop, and sprinkle it generously with semolina, cornmeal, or, if it's all you've got, more flour. Move the dough onto the parchment paper, and press it out from the center towards the edges with your fingers. If it's resisting and keeps bouncing back, let it rest for a minute or two and then come back to it. You want it *quite* thin, with a barely thicker ring around the outside, reaching almost to the edges of the parchment. 

    Top with whatever toppings you're using. Then, using a pizza peel, collapsed box for a 24-pack of soda, a large cookie sheet, or the back of a large sheet pan, move the whole thing, including the parchment, onto the pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 5-7 minutes under the broiler, or until the crust is deeply browned and blistered in spots. When it's done, remove by pulling the pizza out by a corner of the parchment and onto the same transfer surface you used to get it into the oven in the first place. 

FOR THE TOPPING

    Once the parsnips are peeled, cored, and thinly sliced, heat 2-3 Tbsps of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is well heated, throw in the parsnips and onions, salt and pepper generously, and cook until the parsnips are almost entirely cooked through and the onions are very soft. Remove to a bowl, and add another 2-3 Tbsps of olive oil to the pan. 

    When the oil is heated through, add the sage leaves, and allow to fry, watching closely, for 2-3 minutes or until crispy (they will look different, but you'll want to remove them before they brown or burn - keep a close eye on them!) 

    Add the sage oil to the parsnips, and set aside the leaves to garnish the pizza when it comes out of the oven. 

    To top the pizza, add a light drizzle of olive oil all over the pizza dough base, and spread it around with your fingers to lightly coat the surface of the dough. You can add a very light sprinkling of red pepper flakes here, if you like. Then pile the parsnip and onion mixture all over the crust in an even layer. Bake according to the directions above, and then garnish with the crispy sage leaves as soon as it comes out of the oven. 

    It's best to serve immediately, but leftovers reheat beautifully in a covered skillet over medium-low heat. 

*INSTRUCTIONS W/ NO PIZZA STONE: Instead of using the broiler, preheat an empty oven to 500 degrees. Construct your pizza on the parchment paper, and then move it onto a room temp pizza pan, cookie sheet, or sheet pan, depending on what you have available. Bake for 12-15 minutes. or until the crust is deeply browned around the edges.