Pies and Pints | Brussels Sprout Pizza

The tradition continues in week two of Pies and Pints!  My roommate turned me on to the glory of roasted Brussels sprouts, for which I am quite grateful.  Usually I'll saute some thinly sliced Brussels sprouts up with some bacon, dried cranberries, candied pecans.  Or--a newly discovered and newly beloved preparation from the blog Five and Spice--I'll pan roast sprout halves, adding kimchi in the last minute.  I seriously can't get over Brussels + kimchi.

But back to the pizza.  With our shared love of roasted Brussels sprouts, we thought it'd be a great idea to put them (along with some cheese) on top of a pizza.  As for the crust, we wanted to continue testing different recipes in our search for the Best Crust Recipe(s) Ever.

This week's Pies and Pints selections...

• Toppings:  Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Provelone Slices, Apple and Onion Slices, and shaved Parmesan

• Crust: Spelt Crust, adapted from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck

• Beer:  Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye

Spelt Crust
from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck
Makes 2 pizza crusts

Ingredients:
2 cups whole grain spelt flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large egg
coarse cornmeal for dusting the peel and pan

Preparation (by hand):
Whisk together spelt flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, milk, oil, and egg.  Beat with a fork until smooth.  Pour the ricotta mixture into the well you made in the dry ingredients.  Combine with a fork, stirring from the center and gradually incorporating the flour from the sides until a fairly moist dough comes together.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface.  Lightly flour your hands and briefly knead 5 to 7 turns to get a smooth yet slightly tacky dough.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes to allow the brain in the flour to soften.

To roll out your dough, see Assembly instructions below.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Preparation:

Wash and halve each Brussels sprout, cutting it so that each half remains attached at the "base" part of the sprout. Heat about 1-2 tbsp. (depending on the amount of Brussels sprouts you are roasting) of peanut oil over medium-high heat (so a drop of water sizzles when added).  Place the sprouts in the pan, cut side down, and cook for several minutes until deeply brown.  Stir the sprouts and cook for a few more minutes (4-5), until the sprouts are just beginning to be tender and easily pierced with a knife tip.  Remove from heat to limit any additional cooking.

Assembling the Pizza:

Place your pizza stone or an upturned baking sheet in a cold oven.  Next, preheat to 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, unwrap your dough, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and cut into 2 equal pieces.  Lightly flour your hands and briefly knead one piece until smooth, about 7 to 10 turns.  Roll or pat your dough out until it is between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.

Generously dust an upturned baking sheet or pizza peel with cornmeal, so your dough doesn't stick to it and will transfer easily to the preheated stone/sheet.  Lay your dough on top of the cornmeal.

It's time to assemble the pizza!  On top of your dough, brush extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle minced garlic. Place a layer of provolone slices, then apple slices and onion slices (both made with a mandolin or very thinly sliced with a knife).  Next, add your roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted side up.

Generously dust the hot pizza stone or upturned baking sheet with cornmeal, so you prevent your pizza from cooking onto the stone/sheet.  Carefully transfer your assembled pizza onto the hot stone/sheet.  We've found that using a combination of lifitng the front edge with a spatula + sliding the remainder of the pizza onto the stone/sheet to work best.  And after a few times, you'll scatter a lot less cornmeal around the oven and floor, I promise!

Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is done and cheese is browned.  Carefully slide your pizza from the pizza stone/upturned baking sheet onto a pizza peel (or wood cutting board or another upturned baking sheet), using the spatula + slide technique.  Sprinkle liberally with shaved Parmesan, cut, and dig in!

Our thoughts on this week's selections...

• The Toppings:
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Provelone Slices, Apple and Onion Slices, and shaved Parmesan
• Loved the Brussels sprouts. Roasted, almost charred...but practically flavorless without additional seasonings. Alas, none of the other toppings did much to help in this area, so I can't even say this was my favorite part of the pizza.
• Provelone, apple, and onion....not much flavor here either. Sigh.  Total bust in the flavor department.

• The Crust:
• Not something I'd ever like to revisit. I like my pizza crusts to have both a crispy, crunch crust and a chewy interior.  This spelt crust had absolutely no crunchy crust or chewy interior. Just a lot of soft and crumbly bread, almost like a very dried out quickbread (blurgh!).  
• However, the fact this dough didn't use yeast meant it came together incredibly quick, thanks to no rise time

• The Beer:
• This is one of my first opportunities to try a rye beer, and I must admit to enjoying it! 
• There's a slight tang from the rye that makes this brew different and interesting.  Paired with its medium body (not too light or heavy) and generally balanced flavors, Ruthless Rye would go well with a variety of savory foods. One I'd be happy to drink again.

Guess we failed in the toppings and crust department...but there's always next week!