lamb, pesto, burrata & mint pizza.

URGENT:

i've been yim yum yammering about this pizza for weeks now. IT IS SO WILDLY DELICIOUS.

the flavors are totally insane and perfectly spring!!!!

we made this thang 3 times within a week and then spiraled off and continued a binge of various pizzas for dayyyyys. sometimes that just happens somehow....you realize you've eaten pizza every day for like 7 days straight and you're like...how did i get here? cool. but yikes. 

(so in other words, this week has been salad central.)

but i'm not kidding this pizza recipe is REAL GOOD and i'm REAL PROUD of it.

we've been making our homemade pizzas with a pizza stone which i really believe is a game-changer for the crust. BUT it's been terrifying and high stress times when it comes to shimmying the pizza dough off the parchment paper and onto the fiery hot stone in the oven. so we got real serious about it and bought a pizza peel and now we're selling pizzas out of our back door. 

(nahhh... but WE SHOULD BE...)

so first ya got a very simple and easy dough (bread flour makes it much betta than all-purpose in my opinion), a mint-pesto hybrid, peppery crumbly lamb, fresh creamy burrata cheese, zippy red onion slivers, topped with fresh goat cheese, tons of fresh mint leaves, and some red chili flakes. 

shoutout costco who sells the most amazing pesto! last summer, we took this VERY good chewy baguette, sliced in half with olive oil drizzled, threw it on the grill til golden and slathered it in costco pesto and holy moses that was one of the best things i've ever eaten.

you can also make it from scratch, if you like.

but the point is that you add extra fresh mint to the pesto and pulse it together! for that extra layer of mint flavorrrrr. actually i hope you're not freaked out by the mint on this 'zaw? its good. so veryyyy goooooood. i told ya we were having a moment with fresh mint lately next to these fab fresh rolls. 

please make this pizza and go nuts over it like we did!

Lamb, Pesto, Burrata & Mint Pizza

Makes One 12-inch pizza

Active Time: 30 minutes, Total Minimum Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough: (Adapted from the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook!)

• 1/2 cup warm water

• 1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

• 1 TB. honey

• 1 cup bread flour

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1 TB. extra virgin olive oil

Mint Pesto:

• 1/2 cup prepared pesto (store bought or homemade)

• 1 TB extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 oz. fresh mint (1 package // about 1/3 cup)

• 1 garlic clove

• 2 TB fresh lemon juice

Lamb:

• 1/3 lb. ground lamb

• 1 TB. extra virgin olive oil

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)

• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Toppings:

• 2-3 fresh burrata balls

• 1/3 cup red onion slices

• 1/2 oz. fresh mint (1 package // 1/3 cup)

• goat cheese crumbles

• red chili flakes

Instructions-

For the dough, add warm water, honey, and yeast to a medium bowl and whisk. Let sit for about 10 minutes until it gets a bit foamy. Add the bread flour and salt, mix and use your hands to knead the dough together for a few minutes. Add a sprinkle of flour if it's too sticky.

Use the olive oil to grease another large bowl and transfer the dough to this bowl, turning the dough to coat in oil. Cover with a warm damp towel and let rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until about doubled in size. You can make the dough in advance and freeze it in plastic wrap if you need to.

If using a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven as hot as you can while you prepare the pizza, about 500 degrees F. 

After the dough is risen, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. If you're using a baking sheet and not a pizza stone, you can turn out the dough onto a lightly greased & floured baking sheet. Roll out as thin as you can, about 1/4 inch thick. 

Heat oven to 450 degrees F whether you're using a pizza stone or a baking sheet. If you're using a pizza stone, the oven should be be BLAZING HOT from preheating the stone, so be careful. We even bought a pizza peel for this step. 

For the mint pesto, add all ingredients to a small food processor and pulse until incorporated.

For the lamb, heat the ground lamb in olive oil and minced garlic in a pan over medium heat. Add salt and lots of black pepper to taste, and a dash of red chili flakes. Let it get dark on each side before tossing the meat. I preferred it crumbly and peppery and almost blackened, but cook as you desire. 

Spread the pesto over the dough, about an inch from the edge. Add the crumbled lamb.

If baking on a baking sheet - add the remaining toppings now and bake the pizza in the oven at 450 for about 12-15 minutes until lightly browned on top.

If baking on a pizza stone - CAREFULLY shimmy the pizza dough with pesto & lamb crumbles off the parchment paper and onto the hot pizza stone sprinkled in a bit of corn meal. Bake for 5 minutes to solidify the crust before adding the wet burrata. Open the oven door and pull the rack out just enough so you can break the burrata balls on top and sprinkle on the red onion slices. Bake for 5 more minutes. Carefully remove pizza from oven onto a large cutting board using an oven-safe tool. 

Sprinkle crumbles of goat cheese on top, along with torn fresh mint, and a few dashes of red chili flakes. Slice and serve immediately! Enjoy within 2 days. 

qp

german chocolate cake.

like clockwork, my annual german choco cake craving has arrived.

i mentioned last year in my cupcake version of this recipe that this is what my mom always has for her birthday in april. so i associate german chocolate with springtime and also

EASTER!

coconut flakes and those dangerous little cadbury mini eggs are the eastery-est!

i like the dark chocolate ones best, but i can hang with milk chocolate toooooo.

you can bruce bogtrotter that, no problem.

i only live with one person so a wee 4 inch layer cake is the perfect size. plus, it's very cute & petite.

if you have a bigger familia, i'd double the cake batter recipe and use two 8 inch round cake pans. 

this recipe is the exact same as my german chocolate cupcake version, but i altered the frosting recipe here since there's much more surface area to be covered with a layer cake. 

if you're into coconut, this cake is for you! i basically subbed every coconut ingredient possible here. coconut sugar, coconut oil, and then both unsweetened and sweetened coconut flakes in the frosting. 

consider the coconut, will ya?

what a sweet little cake baby.

and you can make it festive, too!

German Chocolate Cake

Yields (1) 4 inch round 2-layer cake

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake Layers

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 2 oz. of a dark chocolate bar, chopped (I used Lindt 70% Dark Chocolate)

Coconut Pecan Frosting

• 2/3 cup coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 5 TB. unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, beaten in a separate small bowl
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
• 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut flakes
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans, plus a handful of extra for cupcake toppings
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

Instructions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the cake. In a smaller bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients for the cake, except the hot water.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Pour the boiling water into the mixture and stir. Lastly, fold in the chopped dark chocolate.

Line two 4" cake pans with parchment and add cooking spray. Fill the pans about 2/3 full with cake batter. Place the cake pan on top of a baking sheet when baking.

Bake for 26 minutes, testing the center at 24 minutes with a toothpick to see if it comes clean.

While the cake layers are baking, prepare the frosting.  In a sauce pan, combine the coconut sugar, evaporated milk, and butter on medium-high heat. In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Scoop 1/2 cup of the hot liquid from the pan into the bowl with the beaten eggs and whisk to temper. Add the egg mixture to the sauce pan.

Whisk continuously on medium-high until it begins to bubble. Once bubbling and thickened, remove from heat and add the vanilla & salt, chopped pecans and shredded coconuts. Mix well and let cool completely.

Remove cupcakes from oven once cooked through. When slightly cooled, transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool all the way through.

Gently level the cake layers with a serrated knife and discard (or eat) the extras. Scoop a 1/2 inch layer of frosting to the leveled side of one cake layer, and stack the other layer on top so that the flat-bottom surface from the cake pan is the top of the cake. 

Using a spatula or butter knife, graze a thin layer of the coconut frosting all around the cake to create a sticky base. You can then use a spatula and/or clean hands to pack the frosting all over the exterior of the cake.

Slice and serve! Enjoy within 3 days.

Chocolate Cake recipe slightly adapted from Molly Yeh!

happy easter!

qp