Zucchini Crusted Pizza

For the past two weeks at school we have been cooking meat, meat, meat and more meat. Today we did eggs, finally something other than meat thank god. I could definitely go vegetarian for the next few weeks until I start craving meat again. Yesterday was our organ meat day….. let me tell you I was a bit nervous about the day. I made beef liver with caramelized onions, lamb tongue with a fingerling potato salad (yes and it still looked just like a tongue), sweetbreads with a brown butter caper sauce, and sautéed kidneys. I had to try everything I made because the chef instructors were watching all the ladies in my class to make sure we were trying it, because “How can you know how to cook it properly, if you don’t know what it is supposed to taste like.” Valid point they made, so I tried everything. Liver wasn’t bad, but of course you can top a shoe with caramelized onions and I’d probably eat it. The sweetbreads were breaded and fried up and had slightly sweet flavor and had a chickeny texture... I’d eat it again. The tongue was served cold and it was interesting to eat because I kept thinking that a tongue was touching my tongue so that had a bit of an ick factor; but if I hadn’t known it was tongue, I might mistake it for beef possibly. The kidneys were my least favorite of the bunch; they looked like quartered mushrooms, but they had a crunch almost like a grape. But glad I got organ meat day out of the way.

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July. My friend who came to visit and I decided to venture over to the west side by the Hudson River and watch the big Macy Fireworks show. Can I say people, people, and mooooooooooore people. It was recommended to get there about 2 hours ahead of time so we set down our blanket thinking we could sit or lay down. People pushed forward till we were laying down in the middle of the mob. Before the fireworks started, we decided to pack up the blanket and stand like everyone else. But it was a spetacualr show, so I guess standing in the middle of a crowded crowd was worth it. I tried to capture a few photos, but of course it does no justice.

I have been coming home and having very light dinners after cooking all of those stick to your ribs dishes at school. I found this recipe in The Moosewood Cookbook, which is a well known vegetarian cookbook. This recipe stuck out because I love the flavor of pizza, but I didn’t want that heavy bready crust.

Zucchini-Crusted Pizza

olive oil & flour for the pan

2 cups (packed) grated zucchini (about 2 7" zucchini) SQUEEZE all the moisture out

2 eggs beaten

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup grated mozarella

1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan
1-2 finely chopped garlic cloves

¼ cup chopped basil

TOPPING SUGGESTIONS:

Any of your favorite pizza toppings. I topped the zucchini crust with a tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.

1. Preheat oven to 400. Generously oil a 10" pie pan or 8 by 13’ baking pan.

2. Grate the zucchini and salt with about 2 tsp of salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. Put zucchini in a kitchen towel and squeeze as much liquid out.

3. Combine zucchini, eggs, flour, mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, basil and 1 TBS olive oil in a bowl & mix well.

4. Spread into the prepared pan & bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown. . Remove from oven.

5. Top with your favorite pizza items and bake at 400 until heated through (about 10 min.)