ricotta pizzetta with sun dried tomato and summer squash
{ricotta pizzetta with sun dried tomato and summer squash}
It's not every weekend that I get to share a milkshake with my two daughters and my 91 year old grandmother and snuggle a brand new baby (No, not mine. Niece Clara Grace was born on September 12th). Time passes so quickly, yet life (we hope) is long. It got me thinking about how much we must eat over a lifetime. Meal after meal suggests monotony, yet the magnitude of what we put in our bodies day after day makes each meal meaningful. When it comes to food, creativity breeds variety (or is it visa versa?) which no doubt helps avoid monotony. That's all good, but staying creative in the kitchen can be challenging on even the best of days. When I find myself stumped, I start with something basic.
Pizza is one of those meals that can appeal to the generations, for generations, and is so easy to create. Whether you choose to make your own dough (easy enough, but I prefer to skip this step), buy ready-made dough or pre-made frozen crusts (I admit this is my go-to, a local pizzeria sells them through our natural food store), the opportunities for creative toppings are endless. I'm a fan of the personal pizza. It begs participation and there is more variety to taste. Case in point: Ricotta Pizzetta with Sun Dried Tomato and Summer Squash.
While Aili was napping the other day, Keira and I prepped the pizzas. After mixing up a delicious white "sauce" for the base, we sliced (for me) and grated (for the girls) some of the beautiful summer squash we'd received in our CSA recently.* Pizza making became the afternoon art project as Keira helped me "decorate" the crust with kalamata olives (quartered), summer squash slices and sun dried tomatoes. And because she made the "grown up" pizza, she ate it -- summer squash and all.
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup plus extra finely shredded parmesan
1 clove garlic
small handful of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 large yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered
1/3 cup julienne sliced sundried tomatoes
red pepper flakes for heat (optional)
extra virgin olive oil
{i love my food processor to create the ricotta mixture for a more sophisticated pizzetta}
:: Prepare two 9 inch pizza dough (in my case this translates to "remove dough from freezer").
:: Combine ricotta, parmesan, garlic and basil in the food processor. Pulse until blended, adding salt and pepper to taste as needed.
:: Spread a thick layer of the ricotta mixture directly on the dough.
:: Lay sliced summer squash evenly on the ricotta mixture, do not layer.
:: Divide sun dried tomatoes and olives evenly between the two pizzas.
:: Liberally drizzle olive oil over the top of each pizza.
:: Bake per your dough's instructions (in my case: on oven rack at 400º for 10-15 minutes until crust starts to turn golden brown around the edges).
:: Add red pepper flakes (optional) and serve.
{pizza and photograph by keira, age 5}
*The "cheese" pizza we made for Aili started with a traditional tomato sauce base. We mixed the grated summer squash in with the mozzerella cheese. I'm not big into hiding vegetables, but hey -- if it goes undetected, so be it. She still ate her side of broccoli.
{gigi and her girls}
{beautiful clara grace at 6 days}
