Zuppa alla Pizzaiola (Pizza Soup)

For a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Zuppa alla Pizzaiola, click HERE!

I’m not sure what made me think of using pizza as an inspiration for a delicious soup, but whatever it is, I’m glad for it. And if you try Zuppa alla Pizzaiola (Pizza Soup), I think you will be too.

Should anyone think we’re just tossing a pizza into a blender at high speed, have no fear. Zuppa alla Pizzaiola is a full-bodied tomato soup, seasoned in the style of pizza sauce, and filled with finely chopped sausage, mushrooms and green pepper, or whatever other “toppings” you like. It’s topped with pizza crust croutons and melted pizza cheese (think French Onion Soup), with more of the sausage, mushrooms and green pepper on top. It’s one hearty meal.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin.

• The recipe gives step by step instructions for making the pizza crust croutons from scratch. If you prefer to use a store bought dough, that’s ok too.

• Speaking of pizza dough, this recipe makes about one-and-a-half crusts. You’ll only need the half for the croutons; store the remainder for later use in making a fresh pizza. Why are we making more than we need? Simple: this amount uses one packet of yeast; making less would mean dividing the packet into a part you’ll use and a part that will end up getting thrown away because it’s not enough to make anything. I’d rather see it get used for something.

• The “toppings” in this recipe (which are used both to fill the soup and to top the cheese) are sausage, mushrooms and green pepper. There’s no real reason for those particular toppings, except they're what I like on a pizza. Feel free to substitute whatever toppings you like. (Ok, almost whatever toppings you like: even if you’re from California, I’m begging you not to do that pineapple thing.)

 This recipe makes four meal-size servings.

First, let’s make the pizza crust for the croutons. (If you’re using a purchased dough, just skip this step.)

In a small bowl, whisk one packet of yeast (1/4 ounce) into 2 cups of 110-degree water. Add ½ teaspoon of sugar, then whisk in ¼ cup of olive oil.

Combine 1-1/2 pounds of bread flour and 1 tablespoon of salt in a large bowl and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and mix just until sticky dough forms. (It's important to mix the dry ingredients before adding the yeast mixture; direct contact with the salt will kill the yeast.)

In a mixer (using the dough hook) or by hand on a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes. If necessary, add a little more flour to make dough smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, covered with oiled foil or plastic. Allow to rise on the kitchen counter until at least doubled, about an hour. (When doubled, the dough should hold the indentation when poked with a finger.)

Begin preheating the oven to 500 degrees.

When the dough has risen, cut it into a 1/3 portion and a 2/3 portion. Wrap the 2/3 portion to freeze or refrigerate for later use in making a pizza. Place the 1/3 portion on a baking sheet that has been dusted with corn meal.

Stretch the dough out until it is about ¼” thick.

Bake for 11 minutes, turning the pan around in the oven half-way for more even baking.

Now let’s make the pizza crust into croutons. (If you’re using a purchased dough, this is the step you’ll start with.)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Brush the crust lightly with olive oil on both sides and cut into crouton cubes, ¼” to ½“on a side. Place the cubes on a baking sheet.

Bake for about an hour until the croutons are crisp. Set them aside till ready to use.

Next comes the soup:

Chop 1 large carrot, 2 stalks of celery, 1 medium onion, and 4 cloves of garlic.

Heat ¼ cup of butter substitute and ¼ cup of olive oil in a soup pot on medium-low heat until the butter substitute is melted.

Add the carrot, celery, onion and garlic, along with 1 bay leaf. Cover and cook for about five minutes. (Don’t let onions color.)

Add two 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes, three cups of tomato puree, 2 teaspoons of dried basil, 1-1/2 tablespoons of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of chili powder. Mix until combined, and simmer covered for 30 – 40 minutes. Stir occasionally, until tomatoes and onions are soft and broken down. (While the soup is simmering, prepare the toppings as described below.)

To make the toppings:

Finely chop 1 green bell pepper, 12 ounces of turkey sausage (with the casings removed), and 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms. Place in a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and sauté until cooked.

To finish the soup:

Begin preheating the oven to 450 degrees.

Remove the bay leaf, and puree the mixture with an immersion blender.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the toppings into the soup, reserving 6 Tbsp of the toppings.

Place the soup in a bowl, and top with croutons.

Cover the croutons with cheese.

Sprinkle 1-1/2 tablespoons of the toppings on top of the cheese.

When all the soup bowls have been prepared, bake for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve hot.

For a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Zuppa alla Pizzaiola, click HERE!

Serve this with a salad on the side, and you’ve got a meal your family will love. (A bag Caesar salad, as seen in the photo at the top, works fine. You’ve just made fresh soup; give yourself a break on the salad.)

I hope you enjoy making, and eating, Zuppa alla Pizzaiola. And that you’ll stop by again next week for another great-tasting home-cook tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep  it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Belgian Yeast-Risen Waffles

A special welcome to new subscriber Magda. Great to have you here!

A special breakfast seems a perfect way to welcome the New Year. And if you love waffles, here’s one that’s not the usual kind: light, tasty Belgian Yeast-Risen Waffles.

What’s different about it? We often see what are being called Belgian Waffles. The problem is that those often are simply Belgian-style waffles that look like real Belgian waffles because they are large and have deep openings to hold toppings, but that are made with an American-style batter leavened with baking powder. A real Belgian waffle is made from a batter that is leavened with yeast, giving it a characteristic light texture. For this recipe, I’ve also used lemon or orange zest to give the waffles just a touch of tartness to complement the sweetness of the toppings, and beaten egg whites and some sparkling water to supplement that batter’s “fluff factor.” A bit of fat-free Greek yogurt enhances the flavor in a nice, healthy way. (Those last two ingredients are decidedly inauthentic for real Belgian waffles, but help keep the batter reduced-fat.)

So let’s heat up those waffle makers to ring in the new year right!

This recipe makes about eight 8” waffles.

Mix 1 package (0.25 ounce) of active dry yeast in 1 cup of warm (around 110 degrees) skim milk mixed with a teaspoon of honey or sugar. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes until creamy.

In a large bowl, sift together 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ cup sugar; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Make a well in the dry ingredient mixture, and add 2 egg-substitute eggs; ¼ cup fat-free Greek yogurt; 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla; ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon melted butter substitute; zest of one lemon or orange; and the yeast mixture.

Mix the wet ingredients, then stir into the dry ingredients while adding 1-1/4 cups of warm milk and ½ cup of room temperature sparking water to form a batter. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

While the batter is resting, beat 3 fresh egg whites and a pinch of salt until soft peaks form, then fold the egg whites into the batter.

Cover the bowl and let rise for 60 minutes.

 

Preheat the waffle maker according to manufacturer's directions. When the batter has finished rising, spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and add batter as per your waffle maker’s directions.

Close the top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron.

Add your favorite topping and a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar, and serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to add toppings and serve. (Click here for an easy recipe for a fresh fruit topping, along with a strawberry-rhubarb pastry that’s a lot of fun to make and eat! That recipe is for a strawberry topping; you can use the same recipe with different fruit, too. In the photo at the top, for example, I used blueberries, and kept them whole instead of pressing them with my hands.)

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year, a great start to which would be to visit again next week for another great-tasting, kitchen-tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook, especially at midnight on December 31. ;-)

Easy, Fresh Italian Bread

A warm welcome to new subscriber Margot!

As part of last week’s recipe for a delicious spaghetti and homemade meatballs dinner with an easy-to-prepare no-cook tomato sauce, I promised to come back with directions for the fresh-baked Italian bread I served on the side. Today I keep that promise.

What’s that you say? Baking bread is difficult? Not at all! Although we’ll be making ours by hand, remember that some people make bread by putting the ingredients in a bread machine, walking away, and coming back later when the bread is finished, with the machine having done all the work; how much thinking could be involved? This is especially true of Italian bread, which is usually kept simple because one of its main purposes is mopping that delicious sauce from the entrée plate, and you wouldn’t want embellish it with herbs or other savory flavors that might conflict with your sauce. (That said, it’s also mighty good gently dipped in a small dish of either plain or herbed extra virgin olive oil. I like a dash of vinegar too, but that’s just me.)

If you’re concerned that bread takes hours to make, I have more good news. While it’s true that several hours will pass between the time you start to the time you have fresh, warm bread to serve, for almost all of it the dough is doing the work while you’re off living your life. In the culinary world, this is known as “inactive time.”

Among the few simple ingredients this recipe uses is bread flour. That’s not the same thing as all-purpose flour, but it’s easy to find right next to it in the baking aisle at any supermarket. For a quick description of what the difference is, here’s a link to a recipe for Savory Crust Pizza posted here previously.

This introduction to bread-making would be incomplete without this bit of wisdom I read in a wonderful book call, “How I Learned to Cook” by Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Meehan. It's a compilation of early experiences related by a collection of well-known chefs. One of the chapters was from Nancy Silverton, co-founder (and bread expert) of a number of high-level restaurants in California. What she said, which I simply loved, included this:

"I realized I couldn't think about bread the way I thought about pastry or pasta or any other typical culinary undertaking. Bread is alive. Minor inconsistencies are a fact of life, not a mark of failure. The tiny variation in the loaves from day to day made them unique, not imperfect. And the relationship of a baker to her bread is like any other kind of serious relationship you have with anybody in life. It's never perfect. It takes so much work. And every time you think that you've mastered it, the next day you're brought back to reality and it needs some more work."

Let’s bake some fresh bread! This recipe makes four 4 loaves.

Dissolve 1 package (1/4 oz.) dry yeast and ½ teaspoon of sugar in 2 cups of 110 degree F water and let it rest for about five minutes. (The mixture should foam while resting.)

Sift 1-1/2 pounds of bread flour, setting another ¼ pound aside for adding later if needed for texture. (It’s easier to add flour to a dough that’s too moist than it is to add liquid to a dough that’s too dry.)

Add 1 tablespoon of salt and mix well, since direct contact with the salt will kill the yeast in the next step.)

Add water-yeast mixture and mix to form dough.

Knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, and just a bit sticky. (You can do this by hand, but it’s easier with a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.)

Place dough in a well oiled bowl and let stand until about double in size. (Usually 1-2 hours.) The stove top or the top of the refrigerator are good places for this.

After the dough has doubled in size, pressing down with hands to deflate it, then turn it out onto your counter and divide it into four portions.

Press each portion into an oval.

Fold the long sides toward the center. Press out again and repeat.

Using palms, roll each into a cylinder 12 inches long. (Start with palms in the middle and work toward the ends to make the cylinders longer. Don’t pull the dough, which will toughen the gluten in the flour.)

Place each cylinder on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cover loosely with oiled wrap and “bench-proof” until doubled, about 45 minutes – 1 hour. While the loaves are proofing, pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.

When the loaves have finished proofing, make three lengthwise cuts on top of each loaf. Place each loaf in oven and bake until browned, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature of the oven to 400, and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes until well-colored. Let the loaves cool a bit on racks.

Happy bread-making!

See you next week with another delicious, kitchen-tested recipe made from easy-to-find ingredients. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)