More experiments in cooking
Riding high on the success of the cauliflower-crust pizza, I decided to try another variety: the meatza! This one uses ground meat as a crust. There are tons of recipes around, but they all differ quite a bit, so for this one I thought I'd wing it.
I started with about a pound of organic free-range turkey from Whole Foods*. You could also use ground beef, pork, chicken, or any combination of these. I dumped this into a bowl and put in about 1/4 cup of egg whites. You could just use a whole egg, but I have an open container of the pre-separated egg whites that I want to use up. ;) Next, I threw in similar spices that I used for the cauliflower crust: oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder. Then I mixed up the mixture with my hands until I felt like the spices & herbs were incorporated. Squishy.
I put the meat mixture into a pyrex baking dish-about 9x12 or so? I squished it down so it covered the entire bottom. I put it in the oven around 350-400°F for about 30 minutes-just until it looked fairly cooked all the way through. If you're using beef or pork, you may also have to deal with a lot of liquid & fat in the pan, which you may want to remove. The turkey really didn't have that, which was part of the reason I used it.
Once the base was done, I took it out of the oven and covered it with mozzarella cheese, sauce (leftover from the caulipizza), mushrooms, spinach, and capers, then put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, and cranked the temperature up to 450°. I wanted the cheese to be melty and the sauce to be baked onto it.
Results: Good, but not really a pizza-well, maybe like one of those Chicago-style super deep dish things that you have to eat with a fork because it's so soupy and gooey. Really, I thought it was more like a saucy meatloaf. I would definitely make it again just because it was good, but not when I want something pizza-like. The meat just can't get that chewy-crispy texture that I crave. I thought about going a little lighter on the sauce, but I think dried out meat with dried up sauce would not have been super appetizing.
Now I'm going to go eat some of the leftovers for breakfast. :)
* I try to eat organic/free-range/humane/grass-fed whenever possible-I support local agriculture by buying from a CSA, organic markets, and farmer's markets. If you're going to the effort of cooking for yourself because you care about your health and your community and your environment, you should strive buy the best quality available that you can afford. You should ALWAYS care about what you are putting into your body. Mindless eating is for suckers.
I started with about a pound of organic free-range turkey from Whole Foods*. You could also use ground beef, pork, chicken, or any combination of these. I dumped this into a bowl and put in about 1/4 cup of egg whites. You could just use a whole egg, but I have an open container of the pre-separated egg whites that I want to use up. ;) Next, I threw in similar spices that I used for the cauliflower crust: oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder. Then I mixed up the mixture with my hands until I felt like the spices & herbs were incorporated. Squishy.
I put the meat mixture into a pyrex baking dish-about 9x12 or so? I squished it down so it covered the entire bottom. I put it in the oven around 350-400°F for about 30 minutes-just until it looked fairly cooked all the way through. If you're using beef or pork, you may also have to deal with a lot of liquid & fat in the pan, which you may want to remove. The turkey really didn't have that, which was part of the reason I used it.
Once the base was done, I took it out of the oven and covered it with mozzarella cheese, sauce (leftover from the caulipizza), mushrooms, spinach, and capers, then put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, and cranked the temperature up to 450°. I wanted the cheese to be melty and the sauce to be baked onto it.
Results: Good, but not really a pizza-well, maybe like one of those Chicago-style super deep dish things that you have to eat with a fork because it's so soupy and gooey. Really, I thought it was more like a saucy meatloaf. I would definitely make it again just because it was good, but not when I want something pizza-like. The meat just can't get that chewy-crispy texture that I crave. I thought about going a little lighter on the sauce, but I think dried out meat with dried up sauce would not have been super appetizing.
Now I'm going to go eat some of the leftovers for breakfast. :)
* I try to eat organic/free-range/humane/grass-fed whenever possible-I support local agriculture by buying from a CSA, organic markets, and farmer's markets. If you're going to the effort of cooking for yourself because you care about your health and your community and your environment, you should strive buy the best quality available that you can afford. You should ALWAYS care about what you are putting into your body. Mindless eating is for suckers.