Italian Polenta Pizza With Caramelized Onions And Kalamata Olives Gluten Free Food

MEDITERRANEAN PIZZA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• To caramelize the onions, heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet, add onions, garlic and herbs. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes or until onions are soft and most of the moisture has evaporated. Discard the bay leaf; add salt and pepper to taste.
• To roast the bell peppers, core, cut in half and place on broiler pan skin side up; preheat broiler to high and place peppers under broiler for 10 to 15 minutes or until skin blackens. With a pair of tongs, place the cooked peppers in a paper bag, fold top closed, and cool for 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle remove skin and slice into thin strips.
• To roast the eggplant and tomatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an ovenproof pan with non-stick cooking spray; add the eggplant, tomatoes, basil, capers and drizzle with olive oil, place in oven and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. When eggplant is cooked, add pepper to taste.
• For the toppings, finely mince the fresh herbs or crush the dried herbs; add the herbs to 3 tablespoons olive oil and warm until herbs are fragrant. Set aside while preparing crust.
• In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over 1 cup warm water; stir to mix. Allow to stand for 5 minutes or until bubbly. In a medium size bowl, combine the flours and measure 1 1/2 cups; set aside. Add the salt to the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour; stir in yeast and oil. Gradually add the reserved flour until dough is soft but not sticky. Knead until smooth; place in a bowl that has been lightly oiled with olive oil. Allow to rise for 20 minutes or until double in size.
• While assembling the pizza, preheat oven to 475 degrees; oil a large pizza pan (15 inch) with olive oil. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 times; roll into desired size, stretch dough to sides of pan forming crust around the edges.
• Brush dough within 1/4 inch of crust with olive oil and herb mixture, top with crumbled feta cheese, onions, eggplant mixture, bell peppers and olives. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over all and lightly drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is lightly brown.
• Serve immediately with additional parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
• Pleasse Note: Do not put hot toppings on pizza crust. Toppings should be at least room temperature.

ITALIAN POLENTA PIZZA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND KALAMATA OLIVES (GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring milk, water, ¼ cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil.
• Stir polenta in slowly to avoid lumps. Turn heat down to low. Stir until polenta is thick (about 5 minutes for instant polenta). Remove from heat.
• Oil a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Add polenta and press down to desired pizza thickness (I like a fairly thin crust).
• Bake in oven for about 35 minutes.
• While crust is baking, saute onions and mushrooms in ¼ cup olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add wine, ¼ teaspoon salt and thyme. Saute until liquid has dissipated (about 3-5 more minutes). Remove from heat.
• Remove crust from oven. Top with tomato sauce, onion/mushroom mixture, cheese and olives.
• Bake for another 15 minutes.

BASIC POLENTA

Steps:

• Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, and stir until melted.

MEDITERRANEAN GOAT CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a large edgeless pan or pizza stone with non stick foil.
• Stretch out pizza dough.
• Mix olive oil, garlic, salt and oregano together and spread on the dough.
• Cover dough with mozzarella cheese and then top with the goat cheese, peppers, caramelized onions and olives.
• Bake for 12 minutes (pizza should slide right off, if not bake another minute) and then slide pizza directly onto the oven rack and bake for another 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven when golden brown.

POLENTA 'PIZZA' WITH PANCETTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees; brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk with 2 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt. Bring just about to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn heat to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.
• Stir 1 tablespoon oil into cooked cornmeal (polenta). Spoon it onto prepared pan, working quickly so polenta does not stiffen; spread it evenly to a thickness of about 1/2 inch all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in refrigerator until it is firm, an hour or more (you can refrigerate polenta overnight if you prefer).
• Put polenta in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to brown and crisp on edges. Meanwhile, put two tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and pancetta is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take onion and pancetta out of pan; set aside. Add spinach to skillet and sauté until it releases its water and pan becomes dry; sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper.
• Take polenta out of oven, sprinkle with Gorgonzola, then spread onion-pancetta mixture and spinach evenly on top of cheese; drizzle with another tablespoon olive oil. Put pizza back in oven for two minutes, or until cheese begins to melt and pancetta and vegetables are warmed through. Cut into slices and serve hot or at room temperature.

CARAMELIZED ONION PIZZA

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan cook the onions and garlic in hot olive oil over medium heat.
• Cook, covered for 10-15 min or until the onion is very tender, stirring occasionally.
• Set the onions aside.
• Heat grill to medium heat.
• Toast one side of each bread round directly over the heat for 1-2 minute.
• Remove from the grill.
• Top the toasted side of each bread round with the onion mixture, sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and Romano cheese.
• Return bread rounds to the grill, over indirect heat.
• Cover the girll and cook for 5-10 min or until the cheese is melted and toppings are heated through.
• Remove from the grill and top with basil before serving.

GLUTEN-FREE KALAMATA OLIVE AND ROSEMARY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°F.
• Sift the flours, yeast and all other dry ingredients (except coarse sea salt) into a medium bowl. Stir in flax meal and rosemary, and combine.
• Combine wet ingredients, including the two whole eggs and the two separated egg whites in a large bowl, using a hand-mixer on low or medium speed. [The two separated egg yolks should be set aside in a small bowl for later use as a glaze]. When fully combined, add kalamata olives. Slowly add dry ingredient mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until fully blended, with no lumps. Scrape the sides regularly.
• Grease a 9x5" bread pan, and pour the dough into the pan. Use a spatula or knife to evenly shape the top of the loaf. Cut two diagonal slashes in the top of the loaf. Beat the two separated egg yolks that have been set aside and brush the top of the loaf very lightly with them. Optional: Sprinkle coarse sea salt crystals very sparsely to embellish the loaf.
• Turn off the oven and immediately place the pan in it. Do not open the door again, if possible. Allow the dough to rise for 90 minutes. It should rise to the very top of the pan.
• Increase heat to 350F and bake for approximately 40 minutes. The crust should be golden-brown. Allow to cool slightly before removing it from the pan to finish cooling. Do not slice until the bread is no longer hot.
• This loaf does not need to be frozen, but if there are leftovers after a few days, place slices in airtight bags and freeze.