Oh My Lands, This is Good!

Ok, so I bought some Swiss Chard last week at the farmers market. Absolutely beautiful. No clue what I would do with it. Poor chard. It sat in the fridge for a week. Today I had the will to cook it and thought about putting it on pizza. Sounds crazy, I know. I googled chard recipes. Tons of them out there! I settled on this one from Angel Valley Organic Farm in Jonestown, TX. You have to try this!!!! Lucky me I planted chard with my fall veggies. So excited!

For once, I followed the recipe pretty much as is.. It is tricky to get it on the hot pizza stone. Try flipping it over onto a cutting board then carefully flipping it onto the hot stone. So worth it! Excellent with some red wine. Yum...I am off to relax and enjoy this delicious meal.

Chard Pizza

Pizza dough:

4-1/2 tablespoons hot water

4-1/2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

pinch of sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

Combine the hot water and the milk. Add yeast and sugar, and stir to dissolve the yeast. Mix in the olive oil and whole wheat flour. Gradually add the white flour, stirring to make a soft dough – the dough should be a little moist. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface (I use whole wheat flour for this) and knead it for about 5 minutes. Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes or so.

Pizza topping:

1 bunch chard (or any other greens of choice), roughly chopped

1 small red or yellow onion

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

handful of chopped pecans or walnuts

balsamic or red wine vinegar to taste

salt

olive oil for sautéing

4-5 ounces white cheddar or mozzarella cheese, grated

While pizza dough is rising, place pizza stone in a 500 degree oven, and warm it for 20 minutes. In the meantime, sauté onion in olive oil until it begins to soften. Stir in chard, handfuls at a time, and cook it all until wilted. Season to taste with salt and vinegar. After dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface, and place it on a well-floured pizza peel or back side of a metal pizza pan. Distribute all but a few tablespoons of the cheese over the dough. Cover with the greens mixture, the chopped garlic, the pecans, and then the rest of the cheese. Slide the pizza onto the warmed pizza stone and bake in 500 degree oven for about 11 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned.