New York Style Chicago Pizza/Chicago Style New York Pizza

August hiatus stretched into September hiatus and now we are smack into fall.

But never fear dear reader, The Allergenius traffics in nostalgia, and the end of summer is rife with remembrances of meals past. From the savory to the sweet, we'll be revisiting some old faves in the next couple of weeks. As the season's harvest shifts gears we'll be looking back through the rear view mirror at some summer highlights.

Speaking of traveling metaphors, when I was packing for my recent trip to Chicago I was faced with the age old dilemma: "Computer or CSA veggies?" Let's just say the only work I faced as I boarded the plane was pondering "what constitutes local food?"












The Park Slope Food Coop my personal mecca for all things local has this to say about "500 miles to local":

At the Coop, we define local as within 500 miles, because 500 miles is approximately a one-day-truck-drive away. Arugula picked at dawn on a Monday can be packed, trucked and on our shelves by 8:00 a.m. the next day. Our 500-mile radius stretches from Quebec to North Carolina, and from the Atlantic Coast to the middle of Ohio.

My locally sourced Russet Potatoes, Summer Squash and garlic were decidedly not local in Logan Square Chicago, eight hundred miles from my Brooklyn apartment.

Does this pizza, composed of exotic Long Island veggies constitute fusion cuisine? The perfect meld of two worlds: cloying Chicago deep dish and New York thin crust? Well, no. But it does offer the perfect allergen free blend of flavors.




The Allergenius Pizza (with variations)
*I used Bittman's recipe, and I'm still working on going GF with this one, but if you have a favorite GF crust, have at it!*

Ingredients
1/2 packet active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 to 1 1/4 cups water
2 TB plus 1 tsp. olive oil
Semolina flour as needed
Pinch of sugar

** I added 2 TB chopped rosemary and 3 sliced garlic cloves

Method
Activate the yeast using about a 1/2 cup warm water and the pinch of sugar. Add together and let sit until bubbles form

Combine the yeast, flour and 2 teaspoons salt in a bowl. Begin mixing and add the remaining 1/2 cup water and olive oil. Continue mixing until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky. If it is too dry, add water a very little at a time until it acquires the desired consistency.

Turn the dough onto a work surface floured with the semolina and knead a few seconds. grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough in it. Add Rosemary and Garlic Cloves. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

For Toppings (and baking the Pizza)
I was recently tapped for GERD by my GI doctor and challenged myself to make a group of toppings that would cohere without tomato sauce, the following is what I came up with, not all are allergy free (I held off on the cheese), but hopefully the flavor profile and balance of dry/roasted/saucy will inspire you to make your own creation!

Ingredients
Russet Potatoes, thinly sliced
Salt & Pepper
Lemon Sorrel, whole or roughly chopped
Olive oil
3-4 eggs, over easy (make these in the last five minutes of baking, so that they are nice and fresh and runny!)

Method

Turn the dough out onto your floured surface and (literally) punch it several times. Divide it into desired portions and roll into pizzas. Brush the dough with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper before adding the potato and goat cheese, and spread oil on the surface of the sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until crust browns.

Remove from oven, top with lemon sorrel and fried egg, serve immediately.


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Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Sometimes The Allergenius isn't such a genius when it comes to technology. Take this particular post. If you had checked it but mere hours ago, you would have come across some pretty gorgeous pictures indexed by my amusing short hand:

Chop!

Fennel!

Other!

Enthusiastic, certainly, but perhaps a bit confounding. I’m still getting the feel of the blogger’s digital tools. Luckily, I’m much more adept with the tools in the kitchen, and love experimenting with them.


The other day I started out with some russet potatoes from my local food coop, intending to make mashed potatoes. I like my mashed potatoes especially garlicky, and I threw in a couple cloves of raw garlic before tackling the crumbly boiled potatoes with my hand blender.

Though I hadn’t added any butter, margarine or cream, the blender (which is also appropriately called a “wand” blender) was churning my potatoes into a creamy consistency, sans dairy!

My lactose intolerant stomach was thanking me before I even put the fork to my lips, and I assembled a gorgeous veggie spread with other fodder from my CSA.




Creamy Mashed Potatoes
(2 Servings)

1 LB (4-6 small or medium sized) diced potatoes, with skins on
2 cloves raw garlic, chopped
2 sprigs thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped green onion

Drop diced potatoes gently in a pot of boiling water, and let sit for 25 minutes, or until the pieces just begin to crumble when you poke them with a fork.

Drain the potatoes in your sink, and let cool.

Place potatoes in a medium sized bowl with garlic, and tackle them with your hand blender until they are the desired consistency, then add salt and pepper to taste

Top with chopped green onion to garnish


Braised Purple Carrot and Fennel Salad
(4 Servings)

1 bunch carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias
1 medium sized fennel bulb, cut across the bulb (to prepare chop across the top to remove fronds, you can peel the bulb's outer layer if desired, but I usually leave it intact)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar plus more as needed for braising
1 bunch reserved fennel fronds

Set stove top burner to medium-high heat, drizzle 1 TB olive oil on oven safe skillet or pan
When oil is hot, toss in carrots and fennel, and let brown

Add apple cider vinegar and deglaze pan

Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Let vegetables cook until tender, when they can be easily pierced with a fork

Uncover vegetables and set heat back to medium-high, cooking off excess braising liquid, tossing vegetables frequently

Add reserved fennel fronds

Serve and Enjoy!


Garlicky Green Beans
(2 Servings)

½ LB green beans
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TB juice from fresh lemon

Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet or pan, drop the sliced garlic and follow swiftly with the green beans. Cook for three to five minutes on medium high heat, tossing lightly every so often.

Squeeze juice from half a lemon onto skillet, season with salt and pepper to taste



Each of these dishes can be served as a delicious accompaniment to a main course, or served together for a hearty and nutrient rich meal!



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