New Year, New Pizza Post

I think it's kinda funny how I'm writing about food right after I stated my goal to lose weight this month. But hey, that's how I roll, so let's go with it, and talk some more about my pizza love. I'm pretty much a pizza purist. Thin crust, lots of cheese, fresh tomato sauce. Sometimes I go for a loaded veggie slice, but if I go that way it's usually just onion and mushroom. I'm not a big sausage and pepperoni person, but don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn it away if it was presented to me.

The above photo is Goat Cheese, Walnut and Carmelized Onion pizza, on a beer crust. When we're not making a traditional pie, we make this recipe from Jeanne Lemlin. Mike and I will have this for dinner with salad, or we cut it small and serve it as an appetizer, as we did on New Years Eve. It's really worth the effort.....

Carmelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

For the topping:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds (6 or 7 large) onions, very thinly sliced, I use Vidalia's
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) crumbled soft goat cheese

For the crust:

3 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12 ounce) bottle of beer
Vegetable Oil for greasing (don't use olive oil, it will burn the crust)

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and a bunch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat well, then cover the pot. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the onions are very soft and are caramel brown all over. After the first 10 minutes, you will have to lower the heat to prevent sticking. The onions need to be cooked slowly over low heat in order to caramelize properly; this can take between 45 and 60 minutes, keep your eye on them. Keep them covered for the majority of the time, you will be surprised at how much they shrink. Remove the lid towards the end so you can get them the right color, once they are light brown, remove from the heat and let cool.

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour in the beer and mix well. The dough will be sticky. Spread a handful of flour on your work surface and dump the dough onto it. Toss the dough around to coat it with the flour and prevent it from sticking. Knead it 2 or 3 times to make it pliable. You can shape the dough into a ball, then divide it in two to make two pizzas, but we just grease a large cookie sheet and make one big rectangle pizza.

Top the dough with the onions, then sprinkle the walnuts and cheese all over. Bake it about 12-15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. You might want to sprinkle salt and pepper over it, but taste it first to decide. Then send me some.....