Salad On A Pizza? Can’t Top That!
Focaccia Bread “Pizza” with Roasted Peppers and Arugula. A delicious homemade focaccia, just a little different than pizza, its crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Baked and topped with olive oil and herbs. Once out of the oven, it’s loaded up with lots of sweet roasted peppers, fresh spring arugula and goat cheese. Then its drizzled with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. Does that sound like the perfect weekend dinner? Oh my, how I love this flavor combination.
This dinner of Foccacia Bread “Pizza” with all it’s trimmings is my idea of a fun time cooking in the kitchen. It’s a pour yourself and your friends a glass of wine-time and make the most of cooking together. Not to mention that this is such a beautiful and incredibly scrumptious dish you’re going to want to share!
Roasting Bell Peppers
I really love the delicious flavor of roasted bell peppers. Like with anything that gets a good roasting and charring, the flavors become sweeter and more intense. When you roast bell peppers, it’s important to make them almost entirely black with char. This helps remove the very thin outer skin and adds all the flavor to the pepper. Once you finish the process, the peppers will be bright and beautiful.
You can buy peppers already roasted. They are sold in the condiment section of your grocery store as roasted red peppers. But, like all things, homemade is so much better. It’s very easy to roast peppers. There are a few different ways to do it too.
Options!
- You just put them onto either a grill pan or even right onto an open flame on your cook top. If it’s over the direct flame, I keep it about medium low and just turn them with my tongs every minute our so. It takes about 5-8 minutes with this method. Once the peppers are completely charred, just put them into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until they are cool. This will help them to steam off the outer skin and make handling them much easier.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and put the peppers on whole. Broil on high, checking every few minutes and turning as they char. This is the best way if you have many peppers to char. Once out of the oven, put them into bowl and cover with plastic as detailed above.
Remove them from the bowl, cut the tops off, then slice them in half. They will release a lot of liquid. Pull your knife over the outside gently to remove the skin. Discard the seeds and slice into long thin pieces.
Put the peppers into a covered container and they will keep for about a week, refrigerated. You can make any color roasted bell peppers, but I find the lighter colored peppers are sweeter and best for this recipe. I am using a combination of red, yellow and orange.
For the Focaccia Bread “Pizza”
Into a small bowl, dissolve 1 1/2 teaspoons active, dry yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar or honey into 1 cup of very warm water (around 80º). The water should be warm very warm to the touch, but not hot. Stir with a whisk and let this sit for 10 minutes to give the yeast a chance to get going. It should bubble to show it’s active. If it doesn’t start over.
Using your mixer with the hook attachment, add the salt and 3 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour. You can also use about 1 cup whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Add the flour by 1/2 cup fulls at a time. Start the mixer on low and add all of the yeast mixture. Let the dough hook work until the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough has formed a smooth ball. I do this for about 5 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Gently push on the dough to release the gas and place it on a lightly floured surface.
Place the dough into a 11 X 17 inch pan. Let it rise again for about 30 minutes, uncovered.
Bake
Dimple the bread with your fingers, then top with a light drizzle of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons total and top with 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and 1 tablespoon of finely minced, fresh rosemary. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden on the edges and starting to brown on top.
The Balsamic Vinaigrette
If you love the taste of balsamic vinegar, this is a great go-to recipe for anything you’re making. If you’re in a hurry, you can use your favorite store bought balsamic dressing. I won’t tell anyone.
Into a medium sized bowl, add 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper and 1 large very finely minced clove of garlic and 1/2 cup of good quality balsamic vinegar. Whisk together, then slowly add 3/4 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil, whisking constantly. Adding the oil slowly while whisking will help to emulsify the dressing. Or, just put all the ingredients into a jar and shake vigorously.
Refrigerate until ready to use. This dressing will stay will refrigerated for a few weeks.
Arugula and Basil
Arugula and basil add a ton of flavor to this delicious “salad” on a Pizza”. To prepare the arugula, you can use baby arugula and just wash it, done. If you use more mature arugula, wash it and remove any large stems. Arugula has a delicious bitter and peppery flavor.
For the basil, wash and remove the stems. Stack the leaves and roll them tightly, then cut thinly on the diagonal. This is making a chiffonade, a french term for the style of cutting.
Chiffonade’ is a slicing technique in which leafy green vegetables such as spinach, sorrel, or Swiss chard, or a flat-leaved herb like basil, are cut into long, thin strips. This is accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then slicing the leaves perpendicular to the roll. The technique can also be applied to thin crepes or omelets to produce strips.
This technique is not suited to small, narrow, or irregularly shaped herb leaves such as coriander, parsley, thyme, or rosemary. It requires a consistent, flat surface area for the knife to accomplish the ribbons.
Serving Focaccia Bread “Pizza” with Roasted Peppers and Arugula
Top the warm bread with 6 ounces of crumbled goat cheese. Top with 2 cups of arugula and 1/2 cup of the freshly chopped basil.
Next, add 6 ounces (or so) of fresh or jarred roasted red pepper strips. Drizzle with the vinaigrette. Serve with extra vinaigrette.
Enjoy!
Focaccia Bread “Pizza” with Roasted Peppers and Arugula
Notes
*Chiffonade:
Chiffonade' (French pronunciation: is a slicing technique in which leafy green vegetables such as spinach, sorrel, or Swiss chard, or a flat-leaved herb like basil, are cut into long, thin strips.[1] This is accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then slicing the leaves perpendicular to the roll.[2] The technique can also be applied to thin crepes or omelets to produce strips.
This technique is not suited to small, narrow, or irregularly shaped herb leaves such as coriander, parsley, thyme, or rosemary. It requires a consistent, flat surface area for the knife to accomplish the ribbons.
"Chiffonade" means little ribbons in French, referring to the little ribbons formed from finely cutting the leaves in this technique.
Ingredients
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Focaccia Bread
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour plus extra for kneading
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle on the focaccia before baking
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
For the Toppings
- 1 cup roasted (red) bell pepper strips fresh or from a jar, drained
- 2 cups fresh arugula, washed and tough stems removed
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, washed and cut into chiffonade*
- 6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Into a medium sized bowl, add 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher or sea sale, 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper and 1 large very finely minced clove of garlic and 1/2 cup of good quality balsamic vinegar.
- Whisk together, then slowly add 1/2 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil, whisking constantly. (Adding the oil slowly while whisking will help to emulsify the dressing)
For the Roasted Peppers
- Wash 3 medium to large bell peppers.
- Set them whole on either a grill pan or right onto an open flame on your cooktop.
- Over a direct flame, keep the flame to medium low and turn them with tongs every minute our so. It takes about 5-8 minutes with this method.
- If on a grill pan, heat the pan on high heat and put all the whole peppers right on the pan.
- Let the peppers char, turning them over every few minutes until they are completely charred.
- Once the peppers are completely charred, put them into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until they are cool.
- Remove them from the bowl, cut the tops off, then slice them in half. Pull your knife over the outside gently to remove the skin. Discard the seeds and slice into long thin pieces.
- Put the peppers into a covered container and they will keep for about a week, refrigerated.
- Note: You can make any color roasted bell peppers, but I find the lighter colored peppers are sweeter and best for this recipe. I am using a combination of red, yellow and orange.
For the Focaccia Bread
- Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water.
- Add 1/4 cup of the all-purpose flour.
- Stir with a whisk and let this sit for 10 minutes to give the yeast a chance to get going. It should bubble. If not, the yeast is no good so start over.
- Add the rest of the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough has formed a smooth ball.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat it with the oil.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel.
- Let the dough rise in a draft-free place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- When the dough has doubled in bulk, gently deflate it.
- Put the dough into a 11 X 17 inch baking pan, spray the pan lightly with non stick spray.
- Let the dough rise again, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F
- Dimple the focaccia with your fingers and place it in the oven.
- Top with a few tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped, fresh rosemary and 1 teaspoon coarse salt.
- Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through.
To Serve
- Top the pizza goat cheese crumbles, then add the basil and arugula, then the strips of roasted peppers. Top with some of the vinaigrette. Serve with extra vinaigrette on the side.
- Enjoy!
- Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
