Niçoise Style Pizza Food

NICOISE SALAD PIZZETTE

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal. Set aside.
• For the tapenade: Place the olives, lemon juice, oil, capers, rosemary, thyme, anchovies and garlic in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza dough into two 10-inch diameter circles, each about 1/4-inch thick. Using a 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 4 circles of dough from each and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Using the tines of a fork, prick the dough all over. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the tapenade over each dough circle (any extra can be used to top fish or chicken, or mixed through pasta or used as a spread for sandwiches) and place a slice of tomato on top. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the dough is crisp and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Place the tuna and the olive oil from the tuna can in a small bowl. Using a fork, lightly mash the tuna. Divide the tuna and spoon on top of the cooked dough. Arrange 3 pieces of green bean on top of the tuna and serve.

PORTOBELLO "PIZZA" NICOISE

Steps:

• Chop the garlic cloves, then sprinkle with some salt and smear to a paste, using the side of your knife blade. Transfer the garlic paste to a bowl and stir in the vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Fold in the anchovies, basil, olives, capers and pepper flakes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature while you grill the vegetables.
• Heat a grill to high. Brush the red and yellow peppers with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, covered, until charred on all sides and soft, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the peppers to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let steam for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in a grill basket and grill, covered, tossing occasionally, until charred in spots and softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Brush the portobellos with canola oil and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides, covered, until a paring knife inserted in the center meets no resistance, 3 to 5 minutes per side. While the portobellos are cooking, peel, seed and thinly slice the peppers.
• Turn the portobellos gill-side up and top each with some of the goat cheese. Grill, covered, until the cheese softens, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and top each mushroom with some tomatoes and peppers. Spoon a generous amount of dressing over each "pizza" and serve warm.

CLASSIC NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; drizzle with the wine and let cool. Reserve the saucepan.
• Meanwhile, bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with salted ice water. Add the haricots verts to the boiling water; cook until crisp-tender and bright green, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
• Place the eggs in the reserved saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water to cool. Peel under cold running water.
• Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
• Toss the tomatoes ian a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/4 cup dressing to the potatoes and toss. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs.
• Divide the lettuce among 4 plates. Arrange the potatoes, haricots verts, radishes, hard-cooked eggs and tuna on top. Pour any juices from the tomatoes into the dressing, then add the tomatoes to the plates. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the olives.

PISSALADIèRE (FRENCH PIZZA)

Steps:

• Preheat your oven and a pizza stone to 500°F (or up to 550°F if your oven can go higher.)
• While the oven preheats, gently heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper, stirring to evenly coat with oil, and cook gently over medium low to low heat (lowering if necessary to prevent over-browning) for about 20 minutes, until the onions are softened and just lightly browning around the edges. Do not caramelize the onions completely or they will scorch in the oven giving a burned taste to the final product. Remove the bay leaf from the caramelized onions.
• Dust your work surface with flour and gently stretch your pizza dough into a circle. Use a floured rolling pin to stretch the dough out until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Generously cover a pizza peel with semolina or cornmeal.
• Spread the onion mixture (including the oil) to within 1/4-inch of the edges of the crust. Arrange the anchovies and olive halves over the top of the onions. If you're using the red bell pepper strips, arrange those artfully among the anchovies. Give the peel a gentle shake to be sure the dough isn't sticking. If it is, carefully lift that area and sprinkle more semolina or cornmeal underneath to fix it.
• Slide the dressed dough onto the hot stone and bake for between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven, or until it is evenly browned and crisp underneath. Use the peel to transfer the Pissaladière to a cutting board.
• Cool for five minutes, cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

NICOISE SALAD PIZZETTE

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal. Set aside.
• For the tapenade: Place the olives, lemon juice, oil, capers, rosemary, thyme, anchovies and garlic in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza dough into two 10-inch diameter circles, each about 1/4-inch thick. Using a 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 4 circles of dough from each and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Using the tines of a fork, prick the dough all over. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the tapenade over each dough circle (any extra can be used to top fish or chicken, or mixed through pasta or used as a spread for sandwiches) and place a slice of tomato on top. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the dough is crisp and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Place the tuna and the olive oil from the tuna can in a small bowl. Using a fork, lightly mash the tuna. Divide the tuna and spoon on top of the cooked dough. Arrange 3 pieces of green bean on top of the tuna and serve.

NICOISE-SALAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Form dough (as directed in Basic Pizza Dough recipe) in a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Arrange half of potato slices on top half of dough, the rest on bottom half, covering entirely; press into dough. Add olives, pressing into dough. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Bake until cooked through and crust is golden on edges and bottom, about 18 minutes.
• Using a metal spatula, slide pie onto a cutting board. Artfully arrange tuna and remaining vegetables on top; sprinkle with vinegar and drizzle with more oil. (Alternatively, toss these ingredients together in a bowl, then top pie with salad.) Slice into 6 pieces and serve.