We visited my wife’s grandparents last weekend, and her grandma showed me how to make one of her Hungarian specialty dishes (a fact about which I feel extremely honored). While she was teaching me some tricks of the trade, my wife and son went out to Poppop’s garden to pick some Rhubarb (assumedly for Savory Rhubarb use in the near future). It didn’t take long before we decided what to do with the stalky haul.
July 23 is Samuel’s (our English Pointer) “Gotcha Day!” And his favourite thing to beg for is pizza crust…sometimes, I fear he will sprain his ear muscles by perking his ears too hard in the pursuit of maximum cuteness. Given his culinary preferences, we decided to make a pizza crust just for the dogs to split (yeah…it was a big circle of dough with nothing in the middle….somewhat like a bagel or a donut…or a hoop that was pushed down the street in olden times).
But, knowing that we were whipping up a batch of pizza dough for the dogs, we figured we’d also make one for our humans, and that’s the genesis of this meal. From there, we built upward. We made our sauce out of a mixture of Anjou Pear and Rhubarb with a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg. Then, we topped that with caramelized onion and a generous heap of baby arugula. Finally, we used our girolle to thinly slice some Tête de Moine to arrange over everything for the baking! This pizza was a very unique blend of flavours that turned out to be a big winner. *If you’re not married to a vegetarian pizza, we think crumbled bacon would have added a really nice salty depth to the overall flavour profile.
Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Pizza Crust (Store Bought or Homemade)
- 3 Stalks of Rhubarb
- 1 Anjou Pear
- 2 Tablespoons Water
- 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
- Ground Nutmeg
- A teaspoon or two of honey
- Baby Arugula
- Red Onion
- Salty/earthy Cheese. We used Tête de Moine, but a Gruyere or Mild Cheddar would work well. Some crumbled blue cheese may also add a really funky dimension if you like.
Method:
- Dice your rhubarb, and put it in a saucepan.
- Cut your pear into quarters, and use a paring knife to remove the core/seeds. Then, dice the pear flesh, and add it in with your rhubarb.
- Add a tablespoon of water to your pear + rhubarb, and simmer until your ingredients melt into a smooth(ish) sauce.
- As your sauce cooks, dice your onion, and sauté it over low heat in a little butter to caramelize.
- Place your pizza stone in the oven, and preheat to 415 degrees F.
- Shred/grate/crumble/curl your desired cheese option.
- When your sauce ingredients have turned saucy, add in your nutmeg and a little honey. Then, combine your corn starch with a tablespoon of warm water, and stir to combine…and pour it into your sauce to thicken.
- Roll your pizza dough out onto a floured bit of parchment paper.
- Remove your pizza stone from the oven, and transfer your parchment + pizza dough onto it.
- Spread your sauce around your dough, and then top it with your caramelized onions, baby arugula, and cheese.
- Bake for around 20 minutes until your cheese melts, and your crust reaches your desired level of crispness.
- Remove from the oven, let cool for a moment or two, and slice.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
