Whole Wheat Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Pizza with Kale (vegetarian)

Dinner is never boring when pizza is involved.  And its a great way to use up any veggies you have to use up.  It all tastes better on pizza!
When making pizza its good to plan ahead for the dough, especially if you are eating it on a weeknight.  I like to make my dough in the morning before work or the night before to allow time to rise.  The sauce can also be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator if you are planning meals for the week.



Makes 1 large pizza

Recipe:
Pizza Dough:
3 c. whole wheat flour
3 tsp. kosher salt 
2 tbs. olive oil
1 1/4 c. warm water
2 tsp. yeast
2 tbs. honey (or 1 tbs.sugar)


Method:
Pizza Dough:
1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix warm water with yeast and honey. Let sit 5-10 minutes until yeast is proofed. 

3. Mix proofed yeast and olive oil into the dry ingredients.
4. Begin to mix and knead the mixture for 1 minute, adding water if necessary, cover and set aside for 5 minutes
5. Begin to knead the dough again.  Letting the dough sit for this time should make kneading easier.  Knead the dough for a few minutes, until it is a springy, tight ball and looks like this: 

6. Cover dough for an 30 mins or up to overnight. 
7. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
8. Press air out of dough reform a nice ball and let sit another 20-30 min.






Recipe:
Pizza Sauce:

1 large (29 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 small onion

3 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon dried oreagano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes or hot ground paprika

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tsp. kosher salt

Method:
Pizza Sauce:

1. finely dice onion and garlic.

2. Add onion and garlic to a medium stock pot on low-med heat with olive oil and water.  

3. Cook and stir until tender, making sure the onions and garlic do not brown.

4. Add crushed tomatoes and spices.

5. Cook on low-med heat for at least 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

6. Serve hot or keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Recipe:
Pizza toppings:
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 c. chopped kale
2 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper
1 c. shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. grated parmesan reggiano
1 tbs. corn meal


Method:
Roast Peppers:
1. Coat peppers in olive oil and salt and pepper and place on a cookie sheet.
2. Roast peppers in the oven on 375 degrees for an hour turning the peppers every 20 minutes.
4. Remove peppers from the oven after an hour and allow 20 minutes for peppers to cool.
5. Remove the skin, seeds and stems from the peppers.

5. Thinly slice the peppers.


Method:
Kale:
1. Dice garlic and onion.
2. Add olive oil, garlic, and onion to a sauté or cast iron pan and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft.
3. Chop kale into bite sized pieces.

4. Add the kale, paprika, salt and pepper to the pan and cook down until tender and somewhat wilted

Assembling the Mess:
1. Lay out the dough into a reasonable pizza shape.  Often my pizza's are irregular or rectangular.  I have one nice pizza pan that I try to fit the dough to, but often I just use cookie sheets and lay it out best I can. If you are using a cookie sheet its good to sprinkle some corn meal down so that the pizza doesn't stick to the pan.
2. Add a cup or two of the sauce, depending on how saucy you like it. Spread it evenly over the dough.
3. Add the cheeses, kale, peppers, onions.
4. Cook for 15 minutes in a 450 degree oven.




ENJOY!