Thursday, October 27, 2011

Barbecued Tofu Pizza

Basic Pizza Dough recipe - see Pesto Pizza, September 2009
http://casseroleclub.blogspot.com/2009/09/pesto-pizza.html

Prepare pizza dough - you'll need to plan time to let it rise. I've found that letting it rise on the pizza pan after you stretch it out makes the dough have a really nice texture (an additional 30 minutes once it's stretched out.)

Kansas City-Style BBQ Sauce
Adapted from Get Saucy by Grace Parisi
Makes enough for 2-3 pizzas

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon pure chile powder, preferably ancho or New Mexico
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ cups ketchup
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste, mixed with ¼ cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (I used soy sauce)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. When the foam subsides, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chile powder, coriander, ginger, cayenne, and cloves and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the ketchup and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
4. Stir in the molasses, vinegar, diluted tomato paste, and Worcestershire/soy sauce and bring to a boil.
5. Season with salt and pepper and simmer over low heat until thickened and flavorful.
Will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

For pizza – assemble in this order:
Pizza dough
BBQ sauce
1 lb tofu, drained, cubed, and browned until crispy
½ red onion, caremelized in a little oil
4 ounces shredded extra sharp cheddar
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese

Bake fresh at 500-525 for about 10-14 minutes - check frequently at the end. It depends how golden you like your cheese. I bake on the bottom shelf of the oven.

I pre-baked the dough completely without toppings (pierce dough with fork so it doesn’t bubble up.) Bake the frozen pizza at 400 degrees, directly on the lowest oven rack for about 10 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted. Check frequently.