Rooftop Gourmet

Challenge #5: Recipe Remix

Challenge Prompt: One recipe, 72 variations! We’re challenging each of you to put your own spin on the same recipe. How you do it is up to you. Will you try out some molecular gastronomy techniques? Share a super-secret trick? Or re-envision the dish from a different perspective? You’ll be asked to put your own spin on Pizza. For the purpose of this contest and challenge, we are defining pizza as having a solid base, a sauce and at least one topping.

Welcome to America; where fast food chains are searching for new ways to pump out larger portions at even faster rates. Grab-n-go meals cater to our fast-paced society, making it convenient for those who don’t have the time to wait for something to actually cook. Pizza chains compete with each other, seeing who can deliver your pie the quickest. They always forget my freakin’ pepperoni but who cares… 32 minutes and it’s FREE! What’s next… a SpeedPass for your local drive-thru window? 

In 1986, a man named Carlo Petrini founded the Slow Food Movement as a way to protest the opening of a McDonalds near the Spanish Steps in Rome.

This international organization not only begs us to turn down our ovens, but to also fully support local farmers, and promote nutrition. The impact that Slow Food has on the world is nutritional, economical, cultural and clearly monumental.

They are solving problems by raising taste awareness and stressing the importance of “field to fork” communities. By understanding where our food comes from, how it was produced, and by whom, people can appreciate the cultural and social importance of food.

When I discovered that pizza was going to be the common denominator in this challenge, I made an effort to take the fast food aspect out of the equation.

I’ve been known to inhale a few slices of late night Domino’s in my day, and if you asked me what it tasted like… I probably couldn’t tell you. For that very reason, I introduce to you the Patience Pizza! A culinary frisbee, loaded with local ingredients that were carefully and thoughtfully cooked at a tortoise’s pace in order maximize flavor.

I started off by making a homemade, whole wheat dough speckled with fresh herbs. The nutritional crust contains more valuable carbohydrates than regular pizza dough and the aromatics were snipped from my roof deck herb garden (it doesn’t get more local than that).

 The scent of the activated yeast reminded me of driving by the old Wonderbread factory in Natick, making dinner rolls in Home Ec. class, and the nose of a full bodied Champagne. I kneaded the dough until my forearms were mush and patiently waited while it doubled in size.

In the meantime, I prepared my local, grass-fed beef short ribs for braising. 

I seared off my meat and slowly layered my ingredients into a dutch oven. Classic mirepoix, tomato paste, and of course two bottles of hearty red glugged into the pot and sat there, simmering away for an hour to reduce and concentrate the flavors.

Once I was happy with the braising liquid, I reintroduced the short ribs to the pot and popped them into a 325 degree oven; the same oven that contained a vampires worst nightmare. Earlier, I decapitated a dozen heads of garlic, revealing a cross-section of the bulbous cloves and roasted them whole.

The once pungent garlic slowly caramelized and became sweet and mushy. On the stovetop, I casually sweated out some thinly sliced onions, watching them gradually darken with color.

At first they made me cry like I was watching an episode of Extreme Home Makeover, but after an hour they made my taste buds drool over the dark, candied appearance. When the short ribs were melt-in-your-mouth tender, it was time to assemble my Patience Pizza.

I rolled out my room temperature dough as thin as I possibly could and spread a layer of creamy Mascarpone cheese over the base.

I zested three whole lemons on top of the Italian cream cheese, which I feel was hands down the most important component of this dish.

With all of these rich, slow-cooked flavors melding together, the pizza desperately needed something to liven it up.

The fresh, zippy, lemon zest awakened each ingredient and brought the individual flavors to life. I then carefully placed the sliced short ribs, whole cloves of roasted garlic, and stringy, caramelized onions all over the disc. I chose a rather nontraditional pizza cheese that would compliment the slow cooked toppings by adding a funky aroma, but ceasing to overpower the flavors with its mild taste.

Robiola is a soft, creamy, Italian cheese that best resembles a French Brie.

The tame flavors melt extremely well, and present the picturesque stringy goo when two slices are separated from one another.

After only a few minutes on the red hot pizza stone, the crust was crispy and flaky. I drizzled the pizza with a reduction of the red wine braising liquid which seemed to rejuvenate the chunks of beefy, short ribs.

 A sprinkle of fresh parsley and this work of art was ready to be devoured. I uncorked a bottle of the 2006 Elio Grasso Vigna Martina Barbera d”Alba for both its striking acidity, and its concentrated fruit.

Barbera is the wine that Italians drink while they’re waiting for their Barolo to age. It is meant to be enjoyed young and fresh, because the tannins aren’t as gripping as its big brother, Nebbiolo-based, counterparts.

The Elio Grasso is perfumed with red licorice and spice, while the medium bodied wine, is full of cranberry and bing cherry gastrique flavors.

The youthfulness of the of the fruit and bright acidity was a great contrast to the slow-cooked, bulky flavors in the pizza. Each and every bite was greatly appreciated because it reminded me of the time and attentiveness that was spent creating this pizza.

Unlike its fast food competitors, the Patience Pizza was thoughtful, sustainable, and incredibly recession-friendly. By turning down your oven, and buying inexpensive cuts of meat, it’s a beneficial way to feed your family for a week, all for the price of two large pizzas. Items such as short ribs, pork shoulder, and brisket, can be slow cooked, to yield an insane amount of meat. Instead of wasting your money on cellulite-inducing value meals, put some effort into your dinner and teach your family how to eat slow food…. now that’s Amore!!!

Tags: beef short rib pizza, beef shortribs, carmelized onions, elio grasso barbera, marscapone cheese, Pizza, roasted garlic, robiola, slow food, whole wheat pizza dough

This entry was posted on Friday, October 15th, 2010 at 8:24 pm and is filed under Beef, Miscellaneous, Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.