The Challenging Pizzas

One reason for pizza’s enormous popularity is its extraordinary versatility. Restaurants serve pizzas topped with everything from lox to salad--and you can too.

But you can do more than just play around with the toppings. You can be creative with the crust as well. Who says a pizza has to be round? And who says the dough has to be made totally out of wheat?

Consider the three pizzas below. Our Mexican Party Pizza has cornmeal in the crust and is baked in a jellyroll pan; once cooked, it gets an extra topping of salsa. The healthy Shrimp-and-Pesto Pizza and our Onion-and-Goat-Cheese Pizza are even more unusual: Their crusts are made partially of oat flour.

The key to a good crust--no matter what it’s made of--is crispness. To achieve it, bake the pizza dough on a pizza stone or tiles. The moisture from the dough is absorbed by these unglazed surfaces. If a pan is needed to hold the pizza, as in our deep-dish and jellyroll-pan pizzas, prebaking briefly at a high temperature is needed to seal and harden the dough before filling. Another tip is to bake the pizza on the lowest rack of the oven.

SHRIMP-AND-PESTO PIZZA

1 tablespoon pine nuts, lightly toasted

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 to 6 tablespoons coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Salt, pepper

1 large clove garlic, crushed

15 to 20 medium shrimp, shelled

Oat Pizza Crust or standard 12-inch pizza crust

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

Combine pine nuts, 1 cup basil, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste in food processor. Process until finely minced for pesto. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender. Add shrimp and cook 1 minute. (Do not overcook.) Remove from heat and set aside.

Spread pesto over prebaked Oat Pizza Crust. Top with shrimp, red onion and remaining 2 to 4 tablespoons cheese. Bake on lowest rack of 475-degree oven 15 minutes. Garnish with remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Makes 2 servings.

Each serving contains about:

157 calories; 194 mg sodium; 29 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.29 gram fiber.

Variation:

For quick pizza, use Boboli pizza crust and spread with bottled pesto sauce.

Oat Pizza Crust

3/4 cup oat flour blend

1/2 package dry yeast

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 to 3/4 cup bread flour

Combine 1/2 cup oat flour blend and yeast in bowl. Combine water, salt, olive oil and sugar in medium saucepan. Warm over low heat, stirring. Add liquid and fennel seeds to flour mixture and beat until smooth. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup oat flour and enough bread flour to make moderately stiff dough. Knead until smooth and satiny 5 to 10 minutes. Shape into ball and place in lightly greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled.

Roll dough on lightly floured board into thin 12-inch round. Place on bottom and about 3/4-inch up sides of 10-inch round deep-dish baking pan. Or pat dough into bottom and sides of pan. Pierce all over with fork. Prebake at 475 degrees 4 minutes. Let cool.

Note: Oat flour blend has become easier to find this past year. Most major supermarkets now carry it--it’s also available in health food stores.

Prebaking helps to strengthen the crust and enables it to carry the moist onion-and-goat-cheese topping without getting soggy.

ONION-AND-GOAT-CHEESE PIZZA

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Oat Pizza Crust

Sauteed Onions

Sauteed Mushrooms

1 (3.5-ounce) piece goat cheese, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese over bottom of prebaked Oat Pizza Crust. Spread cooled Sauteed Onions evenly over cheese. Top with Sauteed Mushrooms. Sprinkle over remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Top with goat cheese slices.

Bake at 475 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until browned and crust is done. Sprinkle with sage and Parmesan cheese.

Cut in 8, each serving contains about:

282 calories; 301 mg sodium; 26 mg cholesterol; 20 grams fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 0.6 gram fiber.

Sauteed Onions

1/4 cup olive oil

2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons minced fresh sage

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden in color, about 30 minutes. Add garlic during last 10 minutes of cooking. Stir in sage and cool.

Sauteed Mushrooms

1/4 pound oyster mushrooms

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, pepper

Cut mushrooms in strips. Heat butter and olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic just until tender. Add mushrooms and saute quickly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool.

MEXICAN PARTY PIZZA

2 cups shredded manchego cheese

Cornmeal Crust

12 Roma tomatoes, sliced

Salt, pepper

Grilled Lime Chicken Breast

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1 cup grated cotija cheese

Avocado Salsa

Sprinkle manchego cheese over prebaked Cornmeal Crust. Arrange sliced tomatoes in single layer over cheese. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Sprinkle diced Grilled Lime Chicken Breast, cilantro, then cotija cheese on pizza.

Bake at 475 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until browned and crust is done. Cut into 12 pieces. Top each piece with dollop of Avocado Salsa. Makes 12 servings.

Each serving contains about:

358 calories; 696 mg sodium; 51 mg cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 21 grams protein; 1.03 grams fiber.

Cornmeal Crust

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

1 package dry yeast

1 cup water

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 to 2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon soft butter or oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Mix 1 cup cornmeal and yeast. Combine water, sugar, 2 tablespoons oil and salt in saucepan. Stir over low heat until warm. Add warm liquid to cornmeal mixture and beat until blended. Gradually beat in flour to make moderately stiff dough. Knead until smooth and satiny, 10 to 12 minutes. Shape into ball and place in lightly greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled.

Punch dough down. Roll out on lightly floured surface to fit pan. Brush 15x10-inch jellyroll pan with butter. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cornmeal. Pat dough on pan, folding edges to form rim. Pierce dough all over with fork. Brush with remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle garlic over crust. Prebake at 475 degrees 4 to 5 minutes. Press down if necessary. Let cool.

Grilled Lime Chicken Breast

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

Salt, pepper

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Combine butter, lime zest, lime juice and cumin. Dip chicken in butter mixture to coat. Grill until cooked through. Let cool, then dice.

Avocado Salsa

1 large avocado, peeled, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 cup minced onion

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Crushed hot pepper

Salt, pepper

Combine avocado, lime juice, onion and cilantro. Season to taste with crushed hot pepper, salt and pepper. If mixture is too dry, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water.