Tuesday, April 3, 2012

TWD & BWJ: Pizza Rustica

 Between the hand mixed crust and my first attempt at a lattice crust, my pizza was quite rustic looking.  Our baking hosts for this treat are Emily and Raelynn.  Follow their links to find the recipe.  Or alternately, buy or borrow the book, Baking with Julia.

I usually try to stick to the recipes as they are written. Because I keep a kosher kitchen, I knew from the get-go that I would have to substitute a vegetable or two for the prosciutto. The rules of keeping kosher forbid the use of any pork or the mixing of meat and milk products. Many fellow TWD bloggers had some excellent suggestions for veggie substitutes. In the end, I went with sauteed sweet onions and roasted red peppers because I like them and they were close at hand.

I was worried about the sweetness of the crust. I am not usually a sweet & salty girl and I wasn't at all sure how this would play with the family. I thought about taking out the sugar or at least cutting the amount, but because part of the BWJ challenge is trying new recipes, what would be the point?  I would try the sweet crust and if I didn't like it, so be it.  I could change it the next time.
I have to say I loved, loved, loved this crust.  It's the best crust I've ever made. Eventhough I don't own a food processor, this was easy enough to make by hand. My older daughter thought the sweet crust complimented the savory filling, but my husband thought the crust was too sweet. At first, I wasn't crazy about the sweet/savory combo. But when I had leftovers cold the next day, I thought the sweet crust complemented the savory very well. Maybe it has to do with the temperature of the pizza. I will definitely be making this again.

8 comments:

  1. I'm glad you ended up liking the crust! Your subs sound tasty.

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  2. I'm happy that you enjoyed the pizza, I thought it was pretty good for my initial expectations!!!

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  3. Looks great and your substitutions sound delicious!

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  4. Your pizza looks great, and I like your substitutions!

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  5. We're a vegetarian household. I subbed extra mozzarella cheese and added a ribbon of spinach-basil pesto. I loved this crust!!

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  6. I appreciate how people made different substitutions to fit their dietary needs. Reading everyone's posts is always such a learning experience.
    Nice pie!

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  7. I think the temperature has something to do about the sweetness of the crust too....eaten cold, the crust is less sweet. But I would choose to make a savory crust the next time though. Glad your family enjoyed the pie! :-)

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  8. Sweet onions and roasted red peppers - cool idea! I am thinking leeks for next time :)

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