When the weekend rolls around, you can guess that I’ll be craving pizza. (To be honest, I crave pizza all week, but these hankerings become more pronounced on Fridays and Saturdays – the reason for this is anyone’s guess!) Unfortunately, most pizzas deal a blow to our waistlines. Delivery pies ooze with cheese and greasy toppings; frozen varieties may contain high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats. Being health-conscious doesn’t mean you have to give up pizza – on the contrary! Making your own enables you to control the variety and amount of toppings, letting you have your pie and eat it, too.
A word of advice: making your own pizza is pretty simple, but it requires more time than, say, a stir-fry, so please plan accordingly. The process can be completed in steps, which I’ve outlined below. Sauce and dough can be made in advance and stored in the fridge, so if you can, prepare these components ahead of time for fast weeknight dinners.
Personally, I prefer a tomato-based sauce – the bold flavor and high lycopene levels draw me in – but some people prefer pesto, barbeque sauce, or Alfredo. It’s worth noting that tomato sauce is lower in calories than pesto and other oilier sauces, so it’s a better option for those counting calories.
If you’re crunched for time, feel free to use prepared sauce (just watch the sodium levels). I like to make my own sauce – I simply dice an onion and several cloves of garlic and sauté them in a small amount of olive oil. After the onions have softened, I add one 15-ounce can of tomato sauce and one 15-ounce can of whole, peeled tomatoes. Then, I add spices: black pepper, oregano, parsley, fennel, salt, and a pinch of sugar. Modify your spicing as you go, but don’t overdo it – you can always add spice, but you can’t subtract it once it’s incorporated. Note: This recipe yields several pizzas’ worth of sauce; portion extra sauce into freezer-safe containers and save it for future dinners.
As with sauce, you’ve got two crust options: buy one pre-made or craft your own. I recently bought a pre-made crust and was less than impressed with the texture and flavor, but if you’re in a hurry, look for a whole-wheat crust with no trans fats.
Making pizza dough is simpler than most people think, and it requires only five ingredients: flour, water, yeast, olive oil, and salt. Here’s what you do: pour one cup of warm water into a large bowl, and dissolve one package of dry yeast in the water. (Temperature is important – the yeast won’t dissolve in cold or tepid water.) Measure 2 ½ cups of flour, one tablespoon of olive oil, and a teaspoon of salt into the bowl; mix all ingredients until dough is formed. The mixture will be sticky, but don’t worry – keep blending until an elastic dough forms. Form the dough into a ball, place it in your mixing bowl, cover the bowl with a dish towel, and let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes. When it’s ready, use a rolling pin (or a wine bottle covered in plastic wrap) to roll it out. Note: this recipe makes enough dough for two 11-inch pizzas. Use half now, and keep the other half in the fridge for up to a week.
Step Three: Top Away
You’ve rolled out your dough and added your sauce: now, the real fun begins. I won’t say too much about topping your pizza – after all, you know what you like – but I will offer a few suggestions. Use part-skim mozzarella instead of full-fat, and don’t go nuts with the cheese; consider using half the mozzarella you normally would and using a small amount of feta, goat cheese, or Gorgonzola – these cheeses have stronger flavors, and a little goes a long way.
Pizza can also help you meet your daily requirement for vegetable consumption. I top my pies with sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach (or pea shoots), but add whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Garlic, reputed to have antibiotic properties, also makes a great topping.
Bake your pizza for 20 minutes in a 400-degree oven, and serve with a side salad, raw veggies, or sliced fruit. Save any leftovers for a quick, healthy lunch. And enjoy: we all deserve a pizza break once in a while.
Kate Garklavs is an academic editor, amateur chef, and enthusiastic distance runner. Always a fan of physical activity, Kate played tennis and was a member of the track team during her youth; she recently regained her interest in running. In her spare time, she experiments in the kitchen, creating quick, healthy recipes for dinners and guiltless treats.
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