5:16 / Monstruo Verde

First, a quick preamble: I am aware this pizza is not as green as I had intended. I think some of the color is lost in the baking process, but I had already settled on a name I liked, so it stays. I also want to clarify that this is not an homage to the Boston Red Sox or Fenway Park. At some point in the past week or so, salsa verde crept into my head, and I knew I had to put it on a pizza. Once I settled on a final recipe, it was quite spicy and I needed a title to convey that. I promise I just liked the name Green Monster.

By far the greatest benefit of taking on this blog has been getting to know new ingredients. The tomatillo, key ingredient in salsa verde, is one of these newcomers. A member of the physalis family along with the cape gooseberry and the Japanese lantern plant I am more familiar with, this little guy has a history dating back hundreds of years, and some of its relatives go back even further. The husk, papery but resilient in a spider's silk sort of way, is inedible. I looked into its purpose - maybe it developed to protect the insides from hungry vermin, or perhaps it carries nutrients to the fruit. Sadly, the internet provided no answers.

Whether the husk is an evolutionary remnant or the ancient Mesoamericans just dug a decorative cultivar, the little shroud ain't doing the tomatillo any harm. I may look into growing these in the future; they do not self-pollinate well, but provided there are multiple plants and a handful of bees around, I've heard they produce like gangbusters.

Cancha, or corn nuts, became a favorite of mine during my great ceviche kick of 2015. That is what I called my discovery of ceviches other than my personal go-to of tuna, mango and avocado [comment below if you would like to see this recipe!]. I have been to some restaurants that serve regular popcorn with their ceviche. Some serve this type of popped kernel. One delightful brunch spot in Brooklyn served both along with a tangy whitefish revelation. Once popped, cancha can be a little big for a pizza topping, so I gave them a whack in the mortar and pestle first. They are not widely available in typical grocery stores, but any Mexican or Latin American market will have a choice selection.

I did rein in my typically liberal use of spices to avoid an overwhelming mess. I love spice, but at a certain point it becomes so muddied you can no longer taste it. I used a little dash of cumin and chili powder, and otherwise stuck with salt for seasoning.

So, let's talk crust. With cancha up top, it felt right to get a corny base layer going. I kept the dry-wet ratios identical to the crust recipe I have had success with thus far, and subbed a bit of cornmeal for all purpose flour. I also used extra in the kneading, rolling and shaping stages. Pre-baking the crust with the right choice as well; my crusts have been trending pale while the cheese narrowly evades burning. My quest for a more bubbly crust goes on, but the results this week were a step forward.

Crust:

3½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2¼ tsp active yeast

½ cup warm water

1⅓ cup room temperature water

Extra flour for kneading and dusting

Toppings:

6 tomatillos

3 small, yellow tomatoes

1 medium onion

3 jalapeño peppers

2 limes

¼ cup cancha [corn nuts]

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp chili powder

8 oz pepper jack, habanero or other spicy cheese

½ cup chopped cilantro

Olive oil for brushing

Prepare the crust. This method is essentially the same as the past few weeks: in a mixer with a dough hook, combine the flour and corn meal. Sprinkle yeast over the ½ cup of warm water and let it foam. Pour into the flour mix, along with the additional water. Mix on a medium-high speed until everything is incorporated and the dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for five minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise for an hour in a warm place.

  

Prepare the toppings, beginning with the salsa. Remove the husks on the tomatillos and rinse off any sticky residue. You can either dice the fruit or rough chop and then whizz through a food processor or blender. Whichever you choose, do the same with the onion.

In a large bowl, combine the diced or processed tomatillos and onion. Dice one jalapeño, removing about half the seeds [though feel free to use more if you prefer more spice]. Add the cumin, chili powder, and the juice of both limes and mix well.

Grate the cheese and set aside, then pop the cancha. I follow the same procedure as stovetop popcorn: a wide, shallow saucepan with a few tablespoons of canola oil, about ¼ cup cancha [this will leave plenty for both the pizza and snacking], lid on, over a high heat. As the cancha begin to pop, shake the pan to keep them moving, distribute the oil, and avoid burning. Once things quiet down and there is a second or two between pops, they are done.

The cancha will need to drain a bit, so allow them to cool on a plate with a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Sprinkle with salt. Give them a once-over in a mortar and pestle once they have cooled enough to handle.

Cut up the yellow tomatoes next. I do not fully dice them, but leave them in nickel-sized pieces as shown above. Slice the last two jalapeños. First, cut them lengthwise and remove the seeds [again, up to you]. Lay each half on the flat side and slice the peppers into thin crescents. I found it easiest to portion the toppings into small bowls in preparation for the pizza assembly. That way everything is read to go and I am not scrambling as the dough already begins to bake on the heated pizza stone.

After rising, punch down the dough and knead to remove any excess air. Allow the dough to rest for an additional 30 - 40 minutes under a towel. Heat the oven to 500º F and pre-heat your pizza stone if you are using one. When the half hour is up, bring the dough back out onto your floured surface and separate into two pieces. Roll or shape the dough with your hands, whatever works. As usual, this recipe makes two pies, each about 14 inches.

In terms of moving the dough from countertop or table to pizza stone, there are a few approaches. A pizza peel or a spatula with a wide surface area can aid here, but the dough will not stick too much if you use a ton of flour in the rolling/shaping process. It also helps to throw some more cornmeal on your pizza stone or baking sheet. I shaped the dough with my hands and a brief touch of the rolling pin to finagle a circle, then folded it in half and lifted gently onto the stone [sustaining no tears in the dough and only one, painful burn on the way!].

Before topping the pizza, bake it in the oven for 5 minutes. This helped me to achieve a darker crust this time around, but it is very likely the dough will puff up in the middle. You can either poke it with a fork a few times to allow it to vent, or ignore common sense and whack it with the flat side of a spatula like I did. This method deflated the bubble, but also broke the dough and sent a rush of piping hot air into my face. I leave it up to you to decide which works best.

After the five minute pre-bake, remove the dough from the oven and decorate it. Separate each topping into two equal portions for the two pies. I chopped a little cilantro and mixed that in with my olive oil before brushing the edges of the crust. Spread the salsa verde over the dough with a spoon, going close to the edges. Sprinkle on the yellow tomatoes, cheese and corn nuts, and top with the jalapeño slices.

Bake each pizza for ten minutes, until golden brown and melty. I recommend cooling for at least ten minutes more, this way the spice, and not the actual temperature, will be what melts your face.