A St. Patrick's Day Alternative to Corn Beef & Cabbage, Pizza Fit for Leprechauns!

So, Patty's Day is approaching and you are not that crazy about the traditional Irish food:

Try taking the tradional ingredients and making something that your family likes. How about a Corn Beef and Cabbage Pizza?

 I am thinking even your neighborhood leprechauns will love it!

Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza:
(Yield: 2 large pizzas)
Ingredients:
1 store-bought refrigerated pizza dough (2 crusts) or make dough from scratch. (See recipe below).
5 Tbls olive oil
3 C’s sliced green cabbage
1 teaspoon pickling spices, tied securely in a 6 inch by 6 inch square of cheesecloth
1 lg. potato, peeled and thinly sliced
Fresh ground pepper & sea salt
Corn meal
2 C’s shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 C shredded Monterey jack cheese
6 ounces sliced pre-cooked corned beef (I will be posting how I cook corned beef on a later post, as soon as I figure out what we will be having this year). --Post: on how to cook corned beef: http://lisakramerartlifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/03/corned-beef-cabbage-irish-bread-for.html
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.      Preheat to 500˚F for  30 minutes.

2.      Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven.  Place the other rack in the top third of the oven. 

3.      Meanwhile, to prepare the toppings, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cabbage, season with a pinch of sea salt (remember, corned beef is already salty) and cook until just soft, about 5 minutes. 

4.      Pour in enough water to just cover the cabbage then drop in the pickling spices (the cheesecloth keeps them from getting all over your dish, a coffee filter works too). 

5.      Cover and simmer over low heat until the cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes.

6.      While the cabbage is cooking, toss the potato slices with 2 Tbl’s olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I did not specify the type of potatoes because you can play with various colored potatoes, this year I am growing puple ones in my garden. The standard is yellow or Idaho.

7.      Place the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. 

8.      Roast in the preheated oven on the top-third rack for 12 - 15 minutes (until golden brown, watch them so they do not burn); set aside to cool. 

9.      Drain the cabbage in a strainer or colander and discard spices; set aside.

10.      Form one pizza dough ball into a 12 to 14-inch round, lightly spread olive oil to coat a bowl, drop dough in bowl and then turn dough and drop on the other side.

11.      Now that your dough has a very light coating of oil on it, lay it on a surface that is scattered with yellow corn meal.

(As you get used to making pizza's, you can experiment with various cheeses). One of my favorite is goat cheese, and since I love pepper, arugula lettuce leaves are a wonderful addition to sprinkle on top of the finished pizza's.

12.      Sprinkle half of the Monterey jack and Mozzarella cheeses on the crust. 

13.  Next, layer the cabbage, the corned beef and then the potatoes. 

14.  Top with freshly shaved Parmesan. 

15.  Okay,  now your getting close to being done. However, if you have a large leprechaun crowd, you will need to repeat with the remaining dough and toppings to make the second pizza. ;-) 

16. Carefully transfer the pizza to the preheated stone and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and crispy.

There, now you have a pizza, even an Leprechaun would eat!

Recipes for Pizza Dough from scratch:  

Ingredients:

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 C. warm (not scalding hot) water

2 C’s whole wheat flour (I keep mine in the refrigerator to avoid bugs)

¼ C. wheat germ (extra fiber is always a marvelous thing)

1 tea. Salt

1 Tbl. Honey

½ C. Cornmeal (approx.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dissolve yeast into a small bowl of warm water. Let stand for about 10 minutes, until it gets creamy and frothy.

Roll dough into the desired shape on a lightly floured and cornmeal surface. Lie out on pizza pan, preheated pizza stone, or even on a hot grill (without a pan; a heavy duty foil works well).  Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes. 

I usually make a whole grain crust; however you can't lose by using one of The Food Network Batali's white flour recipes. This one is yummy!   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/pizza-dough-recipe.html#!