Pizzettas are great for Fridge Foraging

Pizzetta means "little pizza" in Italian. It's a perfect vehicle to use up bits of cooked vegetables, meats, and cheeses. This recipe is amazingly easy to pull together and have dinner on the table in a flash. I am sharing 2 recipes, one that I recently made for tv and one I got from a restaurant in Honolulu from a cooking demonstration there. The second one works best on the grill for those upcoming warm days of spring.

Pizzetta

Chef's note: 2 tablespoons of Tomato paste can be a quick stand-in for pizza sauce.

Ingredients:

Pizzetta Shells: Makes 2 - 8 inch Pizzettas

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

Toppings for 2 pizzas

1/2 cup pizza sauce or tomato sauce

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced and cooked

1/2 cup bell peppers, sliced thin and cooked

1/8 cup chopped pitted olives

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or plant-based cheese)

4 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese (or plant-based equivalent)

4 tablespoons of jarred pesto

1 tablespoon of cornmeal

Preheat oven to 450F

Instructions:

Mix self-rising flour and yogurt together to make form a dough. Knead for 2 minutes until smooth and pliable.

Divide dough in half and roll or press out onto a floured surface. Roll or press until the shell is about 8 inches.

Sprinkle cornmeal on peel or pan and place the shell on the cornmeal to keep it from sticking.

Spread half of the sauce on each shell, followed by half of the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is bubbling. Take out and let cook for a couple of minutes before cutting.

Pizzettas on the Grill

This recipe is adapted from the famous Indigo Restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Makes 4 individual pizzettas

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil

2 large onions, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 ½ Tablespoons brown sugar

1 ½ Tablespoon cider vinegar

1 ½ teaspoon garlic, minced, plus 1 tablespoon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced small