It's Improv time! This month our ingredients are Corn and Butter-- fitting for July, no? A big thanks to Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker for hosting this fun monthly challenge, where we get creative with two different ingredients each month.
I know what you're all thinking....where's the muffin? Am I right? I've gotten a little carried away with muffins lately, but I thought better of it this time. Not that corn and butter wouldn't make an awesome muffin, but I thought I'd better widen my horizons. To be honest, when I'm not thinking about muffins, I'm thinking about pizza. My favorite pizzas have a crispy crust and plenty of cheese and veggies. Sometimes there's sauce, but most often I just use a garlicky olive oil. Wouldn't pizza be a perfect vehicle for corn and butter? I knew you'd agree! Take a look at what kind of pizza I made....
Buttery Crusted Sweet Corn and Tomato Pizza
Crust: ( from Brown Eyed Baker)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
2/3 cup warm water
Topping:
olive oil
garlic powder
oregano
basil (fresh or dried)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
8 oz Provolone cheese, slices or shredded
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels, cooked or grilled
freshly ground salt and pepper
Preheat oven (and pizza stone) to 500 degrees F.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
Cut in the butter with a pastry knife or two forks, until the flour resembles a
coarse meal. Stir the yeast into the warm water. Add the water to the
flour mixture and stir until it comes together into a ball. Turn the dough onto
a floured surface and gently knead until you have a smooth dough. Divide it in
half, cover loosely, and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle some cornmeal or Semolina flour onto a pizza peel
(or use the back of a baking pan). Using your hands or a rolling pin, shape one
of the dough halves into a 10" circle. Prick the dough with a fork, slide
it onto the heated pizza stone, and bake for 3 to 5 minutes.
Brush the partially baked dough with 1-2 tablespoons olive
oil. Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, a teaspoon oregano, and a
teaspoon dried basil (or several leaves of fresh basil, shredded). Top with
about a cup of shredded cheese, or enough Provolone cheese slices to cover the
crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Top the cheese with sliced tomatoes and 1 cup
of corn kernels. Return the pizza to the oven and continue to bake for an
additional 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with freshly ground salt
and pepper. Repeat with the second half of dough.
This is a lot like making a pie crust, except I always use chilled water for that. This crust turns out nice and crisp...and flaky!
The silpat makes a nice spot for kneading your dough.
Semolina flour is a good change from cornmeal...not quite as gritty.
I happen to like my corn grilled, so I saved several cobs when I grilled on Sunday.
Just use a sharp knife to get the kernels off of the cob.
You can see from the side how flaky the crust is. As a bonus, it stayed crispy, even after a night in the fridge.
This makes for a good lunch and/or appetizer, no?
I wasn't so sure I would like the crust like this, thinking it would be too much like a pie crust., but it turned out to be one of the better pizza crusts I've made. As a bonus, there really isn't any rise time. Buttery, flaky crust with ripe tomatoes and corn? Oh yes...this I will make again. :)
Check out all of the other delicious Corn and Butter entries.....