“Run… RUN!!!” I scream at Dev from the top of my lungs. We are running as fast as our feet can take us, stumbling, panting, out of breath and constantly looking over our shoulders to see whether or not it is in pursuit. All the stories, all the tall tales that you have heard are true. The terrible two’s is a very real thing. Overnight, my son went from a sweet little angel to the spawn of the dark prince. One of the things that can exorcise this baby demon is our weekly routine to the farmers’ market. As we make our weekly rounds of hi’s and bye’s, we see these gorgeous, I mean, GORGEOUS heirloom tomatoes from one vendor to the next. You know what that means? Tomato season. This inspired me to create this week’s recipe, my Paleo Heirloom Pizza.
Pizza has always been one of my favorite things. As a child, I didn’t eat a lot of pizza in Hong Kong. It wasn’t until I moved to the states that it became a more regular occurrence. My pizza topping evolution is a bell curve for sure. I went from just pepperoni to everything and now back to the minimalist. What do I mean a minimalist? Sauce, Cheese, basil and maybe a few slices of dry aged meats. It’s become a quality over quantity thing. Good crust, good sauce, fresh cheese and fresh basil. Many people argue that the crust is the most important part of the pizza, I agree, but to me personally, a sauce is what makes or breaks a pizza. That’s why I am making this Paleo Heirloom Pizza. The sauce is made fresh with the freshest ingredients from my farmers’ market. Let’s get baking!
Paleo Heirloom Pizza:
Crust:
1½ Cup – Otto’s Cassava Flour
1¼ – Warm Water (95-100ºF)
3 Tbsp – Kasandrinos Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Pack – Fast Rising Yeast
½ Tsp – Salt
1 Tsp – Raw Sugar¹
1 Tsp – Baking Soda
Pizza Sauce:
3 – Large Woodle Orange Heirloom Tomatoes
2 – Orange Baby Bell Peppers (Finely Diced)
1 – Small Yellow Onion (Grated)
1 Tbsp – Fresh Oregano (Finely Chopped)
1 Tsp – Fresh Parsley (Finely Chopped)
1½ Tsp – Fresh Sweet Basil (Finely Chopped)
5-6 Cloves – Garlic (Minced)
Zest – Quarter of a Lemon
Fresh Ground Black Pepper – To Taste
Sea Salt – To Taste
Gold Nugget Ghee – For Cooking
Toppings:
Hard Chorizo (Thin Sliced)
Grass Fed Fresh Mozzarella (Optional)
Grass Fed Parmesan Cheese (Optional)
Spoon Tomatoes
Ground Tomatoes (halved)
Fresh Sweet Basil
Kasandrinos Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Note¹ You can substitute with 1 tbsp honey instead. I like to use regular sugar with yeast because the yeast consumes a lot of the sugar, so you are not ingesting a lot of it. Remember 80/20.
Let’s dive in everyone! First, let’s chat about the ingredients we have. Tomatoes are your main ingredient for this recipe. You cannot have a Paleo Heirloom Pizza without the heirloom tomatoes. That said, I wanted a non-traditional sauce that still embraces the origins. I decided that I want an orange sauce instead of the good ol’ red marinara. I have to tell you, the Woodle orange tomatoes, ground tomatoes and spoon tomatoes all lean towards the sweeter side. The sweet sauce really helps balance out the savory cheeses and chorizo. Of course, you are more than welcome to use sauce from a jar or use any kind of tomatoes. That’s the wonderful thing about pizza, you can always add and subtract different things to fit your taste buds. There are two things that will make this recipe a lot easier, a Box Grater and a zester. Let’s get started on this Paleo Herloom Pizza.
Crust Instructions:
You cannot have pizza without a crust. The crust for our Paleo Heirloom Pizza is super easy to make. Let’s start by blooming the yeast. Mix a cup of warm water, between 95-100ºF with a teaspoon of sugar and the packet of yeast. Set it aside in a warm, dark place to allow it to bloom. While you wait for the yeast to get ready, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the rest of your dry ingredients. Once the yeast is ready, pour in the yeast, the remaining warm water, and the olive oil. Mix the dough by hand. The good thing about paleo dough, no kneading! Mix until the dough no longer stick to your hand, cover with a slightly damp cloth and set it in the oven to let the yeast rest. Let rest about 45 minutes. During that time, you can get started on your sauce. Once the dough is rested, take it out of the oven and preheat it to 475ºF. On a floured surface, roll out your dough to about ¼ inch thick. Thinner if you like crispier. Transfer into a lip-less cookie sheet and pre-bake the crust for 7 minutes. Your crust is now ready. There should be enough ingredients here to make two Paleo Heirloom Pizzas.
Sauce Instructions:
The sauce for the Paleo Heirloom Pizza is very easy to make. Halve your large heirloom tomatoes, set your grater into a mixing bowl. Using the large hole graters, set the halved tomatoes flesh side down and start grating. This will actually skin the tomatoes for you and you have your fresh tomato sauce just like that. In a sauce pan over medium heat, heat about a tablespoon of ghee. Use the zester, zest your cloves of garlic directly into the sauce pan along with your onion. Yes, we are grating it. This way there are no chunks left in the sauce. While you are at it, zest your lemon into the pan and add all of your fresh herbs. Let that cook for a few seconds and add in the rest of your ingredients. Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes to allow some of the moisture to cook off. Once done, remove from the heat and let’s assemble the Paleo Heirloom Pizza.
To assemble the Paleo Heirloom Pizza, take your previously baked crust, spread the sauce on there all the way to the edge along with a drizzle of olive oil. Yes, all the way to the edge. Why? Just because I like it saucy! With the zester, grate a thin layer of Parmesan over the sauce. Spread small bits of mozzarella, sliced chorizo, spoon tomatoes and ground tomatoes all over. Pop that baby in the oven for 8-12 minutes until it starts to slightly turn golden brown. Your Paleo Heirloom Pizza is now ready for consumption! Once out, let cool for a few minutes, sprinkle with cheese, crushed red pepper flakes and a handful of fresh sweet basil. As you noticed, I don’t like to cut pizza like everyone else does it because this one is my pizza! There you have it, my Paleo Heirloom Pizza. I hope you have enjoyed my recipe this week, and until next time, eat up my friends!
