GARLICKY KALE AND RICOTTA PIZZA
It’s FRIDAY! And Fridays call for pizza. I’ve not had pizza in forever, and I was worried I could not take pizza bites with my braces. But we’ll be honest: an entire mouth of wire and achy, brittle tooth will not stop me from eating pizza. I was in the mood for a thin white slice of pizza last week, similar to the one I enjoyed at one of my top pizza spots in New Orleans ( Pizza Delicious If you’re curious). So I cooked up this easy Garlicky Kale with Ricotta Pizza.
RICOTTA FOR THE WIN
Ricotta is what makes this pizza unique. If you’re unfamiliar with ricotta cheese, it’s rich and light simultaneously. Its flavor is light, almost sweet, and more like fresh milk than other cheeses. This makes the pizza incredibly creamy without being too weighty, and that’s precisely what I’m looking for from an outdoor pizza! And, because the Ricotta is wonderfully moist, it didn’t require sauce. All I needed was a thin layer of garlic and olive oil over my crust, and I was ready to go!
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
One clove of garlic, chopped ($0.08)
6 cups of kale leaves torn ($0.50)
Pizza
One large pizza dough* ($0.32)
1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic ($0.02)
1 cup of whole milk Ricotta ($1.13)
1 cup shredded mozzarella ($1.25)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 400oF. If your kale remains on its stem, remove the leaves off the stems and cut them into 2-inch pieces. Rinse the kale in a strainer.
Place the minced garlic and olive oil into a big saucepan and heat on medium for approximately one minute or until the garlic becomes soft and aromatic. Add the kale, and cook for about 5 minutes or until the kale has softened. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Make sure you stretch your pizza dough (about 12-14 inches) and place it on the pan. Mix the garlic powder and olive oil in a small bowl and apply the mixture to the dough’s surface. Sprinkle the sauteed kale on the top, and then cover with ricotta dollops. Then sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top.
The pizza is baked for 15 to 20 minutes until the pizza’s crust is browned, the cheese has melted, and the cheese begins to turn brown around the edges. Cut the pizza into eight pieces and serve.
