Wednesday, March 12, 2008

White Pita Pizza

Yeah, I know, it's not really a pizza, but the store was out of good bread and the pitas looked pretty sexy so I gave in. Isn't it sort of rediculous that I can buy pig feet, jarred roasted peppers, wood ear mushrooms, rediculously over-priced imported yogurt, naan bread, but I can't find any manner of pizza crust in the god damn grocery store? Hell I couldn't even find Boboli stuff in that dump, maybe I just live near a really crap grocery store. I should have gone to work early so I could make it to the Italian market before it closed, but I drag my ass into the office at the last possible second unless there is a damn good reason to wake up early, usually related to alcohol or sex.
I gotta say the pita worked out nicely, it came out crisp and slightly chewy, just the way I like my pizza crust. Pitas have a somewhat dry quality, quite different from most pizza crusts, but if you like thin and crispy this might be for you. Plus pitas are pretty good for you so feel free to load on the toppings and still avoid most of the inevitable guilt. Fatty.
One note, be sure to buy pocketless pitas for this application. You could use the pocketed variety, but they are likely to be drier and flimsier.
White Pita Pizza
Onions:
2 large sweet onions cut however you like them on your pie
2 tbsn butter
2 tbsn oil or bacon fat (yum)
salt and pepper to taste
couple sprigs of thyme (optional)
splash of beer (optional)

White Sauce:

2 tbsn butter
2 tbsn flour
1 cup milk
2 tbsn parmesan
3 cloves garlic chopped or pressed
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper flake (optional)

Mozzarella or fontina cheese to top.

To caramelize onions cook in the butter and oil on medium low heat for about 45 minutes. DO NOT ADD SUGAR. Honestly I don't know why people feel the need to do that. Add the salt and pepper in the beginning, the thyme sprigs about half way through, and splash of beer toward the end to deglaze. Keep an eye on these as you don't want them to crisp and brown, you want them to get very soft and very sweet. Stir often, like every five minutes or so, until they taste sweet and melt in your mouth, they will take on an overall light brown color. Pick out the thyme stems and set aside when done.

White Sauce:

Melt the butter on low heat in a small sauce pan, add the garlic and saute for a minute until it is soft and fragrant. Add the flour and whisk vigorously until it forms an even paste. Microwave milk until hot (1-2 minutes) and add to the pan slowly while whisking to avoid lumps. Keep heat low and whisk until sauce thickens, should only take a minute or two, then add parmesan and salt and pepper. This will be quite thick, about the consistancy of mayonaise. Set aside.

Assembly:

Put your pita on a metal rack set on top of a cookie sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil. Spread your desired amount of sauce evenly over the surface. Top with onions, don't put too much or it will be hard to eat, unless you plan on knife and forking it, and in that case PILE IT ON. Top the onions with a thin layer of mozzarella or whatever you are using. Some shredded chicken would be great on this too.
Bake on middle rack in 450F oven until cheese is fully melted and golden brown at the edges.
You could definitely make this into little appetizers by cutting the pitas into little triangles or whatever shape gets you going and then topping and baking.

I ate this with a salad topped with honey mustard dressing and felt really proud of my gourmet-ness. It's so damn simple, but really good!

Honey Mustard Dressing

1 part mustard
1 part honey
2 parts oil (I prefer olive)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except oil until smooth, then add oil while stirring. Season and pour over greens. Now you don't have an excuse to not buy nasty mass produced salad dressing ever again. Just remember this: high fructose corn syrup has no business on a salad.