Potato Taleggio Pizza Food

POTATO FENNEL PIZZA

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a large pot with enough cold water to cover by 2 inches; add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes can just be pierced with a fork, 10 to 25 minutes depending on their size. Drain and let them sit to dry out until they're cool enough to handle. Slice the potatoes as thin as you can manage, at most 1/4-inch-thick; transfer the potato slices to a bowl and gently toss with the lemon juice and zest, 4 tablespoons oil, and lots of salt and pepper.
• Put the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add some of the fennel in a single layer, taking care not to crowd (you'll probably have to work in batches) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining fennel.
• Return all the fennel to the skillet and add the wine. Reduce the heat so the liquid bubbles gently and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the fennel is quite tender and the pan is dry, 5 to 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Heat the oven to 500 degrees F and put the rack in the lower third, with the pizza stone if you're using one.
• Prepare the pizza dough according to the recipe directions. Top each pizza with half the potato slices (it's okay if they overlap a bit), then scatter with half the braised fennel. Put one baking sheet into the oven or slide the pizza on its parchment onto the stone. Bake until the crust is crisp, anywhere from 5 to 12 minutes. Chop the fennel fronds, sprinkle half over the pizza, drizzle with olive oil, slice and serve. Bake the second pizza while you eat the first.
• Grease a large bowl with olive oil. Put all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, instant yeast, and salt in a food processor. With the machine running, gradually add olive oil and 1 cup water, taking care not to overmix. Continue to run the machine, slowly adding 1/2 cup more water, until the dough forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch, about 30 seconds. If it's still dry, add 1 tablespoon water and process for another 10 seconds, but make sure the dough stays only a little sticky. (Unlikely, but if the mixture is too sticky to handle, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time and process for 10 seconds.) Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead by hand until you have a smooth, round ball, just a few seconds. Put the dough in the prepared bowl, turn to coat in the oil and cover with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Cut the dough into 2 pieces. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a towel and let rest until it puffs slightly, 20 minutes or so.
• Cut 2 pieces of parchment the size of large rimmed baking sheets (or pizza stone if you have one). Line 2 baking sheets with the parchment and, using floured hands, transfer one piece of dough to the parchment with the help of a spatula or pastry blade; put the other piece of dough on the second sheet. Let the dough sit for a few minutes; this will relax the dough and make it easier to roll out. Lightly press or roll each dough ball into the pan to about 1/4-inch thickness, flouring the dough only as necessary to prevent sticking. (If you're using a pizza stone, roll or pat out the dough onto parchment, 1/4-inch-thick, then transfer to a peel.) Press gently on the dough to readjust and flatten before topping.

TRUFFLED POTATO PIZZA WITH RICOTTA AND TALEGGIO

Steps:

• Because the potatoes need to soak, I suggest prepping your potatoes while your dough is still rising to expedite your pizza assembly later Scrub the potatoes with a produce brush under cold water to get rid of any dirt and debris clinging to the skin. I prefer to use a waxy Yukon Gold potato for this recipe, so there is no need to peel the skin from this variety, they just need a good scrub.
• Slice the potatoes very thinly. Though you can probably *technically* do this with a sharp knife and a *very* patient hand, I prefer to use a mandoline like this one, set to its lowest thickness setting for easy paper-thin potato slices of equal thickness. They should be so thin that they are semi-sheer and slightly flexible.
• Soak the sliced potatoes in cold water for a minimum of 15-minutes -- though 30-minutes or more is best. Transfer the sliced potatoes to a large bowl and cover with cold water. This will help rinse off any excess starch and help the potato crisp up once baked.
• Once your pizza dough has risen, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and set a baker's half sheet to the side.
• Shape your dough. If you prefer a classic pie-shape with a thicker crust compared to the center of your dough, I suggest hand-stretching your dough. If you prefer your pizza to be an even thickness, I suggest rolling your dough out with a rolling pin. If you are hand-stretching your dough: I like to rub a small amount of olive oil into my hands first; this allows me to shape the dough easier without it ripping accidentally from friction.
• Press the dough down with the palm of your hand into a disk shape, then use your fingertips to gently press down on the dough disk, further flattening it.
• To further extend the dough, I prefer to press one palm on top of one side of the dough and with the other hand lift the alternative side of the dough and gently work the dough outward, pulling very gently with the tips of my oiled fingers (like a very discrete "come hither" motion) to slowly stretch the dough out. Rotate slightly and repeat until the dough is shaped and stretched to your liking. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again. Transfer your stretched dough to a sheet of parchment paper.
• If you are using a rolling pin: I prefer to place my dough between two sheets of parchment paper to avoid the dough sticking to my rolling pin, but if you prefer you can also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough ball as well as wiping some over your rolling pin by hand to prevent sticking instead. Once the dough has been rolled to your preferred size and shape, peel the top layer of parchment paper off (if using). The bottom layer that the dough is resting on can be utilized for your baking sheet. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again.
• Transfer your shaped dough to the reserved baking sheet.
• In a small bowl combine the ricotta cheese, white truffle oil, Kohser salt, and cracked black pepper. Spread over the top of the pizza dough and using the back of a spoon spread the mixture out evenly over the dough.
• Top the ricotta mixture with the sliced Taleggio cheese, arranging it so that it is evenly dispersed across the pie with roughly equivalent space in between.
• Drain the water from your soaking potatoes. Rinse the potatoes to remove any clinging starchy water, drain them, and pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. I find that the easiest way to do this is to lightly toss the potatoes by hand as you pat them with the towel to remove as much of the liquid as possible without being precious about drying each one individually. A wet potato will just steam rather than crisp so the drier the potatoes the better.
• Top the pizza with the potato slices, slightly overlapping each one to fully cover the pizza. At this point, many of the soaked and dried potato slices will have "popped" and rounded so they do not lie flat. Just do your best to cover the pizza and don't worry about making them lie perfectly flat. Sprinkle the potatoes with Maldon salt flakes.
• Bake for 18-24 minutes or until the crust has reached your preferred level of crispness and the potatoes are starting to char slightly at the edges. I find that pizzas that have a thinner topping layer take less time to bake and heavier-topped pizzas generally take a bit longer to bake so watch your pizza closely after the 18-minute mark and adjust as desired.
• Once removed from the oven top the pizza with the chives, tarragon, and parsley, slice, and serve warm.

POTATO-FENNEL PIZZA WITH TALEGGIO

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack and preheat to 500 degrees F. Make the potatoes: Combine the potatoes, garlic, sliced fennel and fennel fronds in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium; cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Add the olive oil and mash until almost smooth. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper; set aside.
• Assemble the pizza: Keep the prebaked crust on the baking sheet. Scatter the taleggio and potato mixture over the crust, spreading the potato mixture slightly. Scatter the sliced fennel on top, sprinkle with the parmesan and drizzle with the olive oil. Transfer the baking sheet to the hot pizza stone and bake until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and season with salt and pepper.
• Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in 2 cups warm water (about 105 degrees F) and 2 tablespoons olive oil with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the dough rises slightly, about 1 hour.
• Using lightly floured hands, transfer the dough to a generously floured surface and knead several times until it just starts becoming smooth and elastic, about 1 minute (do not over-knead). Transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, place a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack and preheat to 500 degrees F.
• Brush two rimmed 13-by-18-inch baking sheets (not nonstick) with 3 tablespoons olive oil each. Place one piece of dough on each baking sheet. Prepare the pizzas one at a time: Cover the dough with plastic wrap, then press firmly with your hands to fill the baking.
• Remove the plastic wrap and transfer the baking sheet to the hot pizza stone. Bake until the crust starts browning, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully loosen the crust from the pan using a spatula. Top and bake or let cool, lightly wrap in plastic and set aside up to 8 hours.

POTATO, TALEGGIO & SPINACH TART

Steps:

• Tip the flour and the yeast into a bowl and mix well. Stir in ½ tsp salt, then make a well in the centre and add 200ml hand-hot water and the oil and mix to a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until the dough is smooth and silky. Return to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hr.
• Meanwhile, boil the potatoes, then drain. Leave until cool enough to handle, then peel and cut into thin slices.
• Put the spinach into a metal colander and pour over boiling water from a kettle to just wilt the leaves. Press out excess water using the edge of a saucer.
• Knead the risen dough and roll out to line a 30 x 36cm shallow rectangular tin. Arrange the spinach over the pastry to within 2cm of the edges. Arrange the potatoes and Taleggio alternately over the top and scatter with rosemary. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the filling and the pastry edges and drizzle with a little olive oil. Leave to rise again for 20 mins. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake for 20-25 mins until the pastry is golden and the topping melted and golden brown. Serve cut into squares.