Whole Wheat Chicken-Feta Pizza (From Scratch) with Spinach-Mushroom Salad

Don't turn your back on this whole wheat pizza because it didn't taste like cardboard, for sure. The crust is prepared from a mix of wheat flour and APF. Also, i have added few dried herbs to the flour to make the crust even more flavorful. These days everybody is trying to sneak in some healthy stuff into their favorite dishes and one such dish is my pizza. For topping, use the real cheese, but in moderation and skip the low-fat ones. This way, you will feel full and satisfied and also escape from cravings. My next pizza will be 'all WWF, no APF'. I guess so...

Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (Maida), divided

1 1/2 cups Warm Water

1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast

1/2tsp Italian Seasoning (optional)

1/2tsp Pizza Seasoning (optional)

1tbsp Olive oil, more for greasing 

1tsp Sugar

1tsp Salt

How to:

Dough:

• Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and let sit for 10 mins, until foamy.

• In a big bowl, mix together the whole wheat flour, 1 cup APF, seasonings and salt.

• Add the olive oil to the flour mixture and mix it well.

• Now pour the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix until dough starts to come together.

• Transfer the dough to a floured flat surface and start kneading by slowly adding the remaining 1/2 cup APF and prepare a smooth dough. Knead for 10 mins.

• Now transfer the kneaded dough to a clean oiled bowl, wrap it with a kitchen towel and place it inside the microwave oven. (Do not switch on the oven.)

• Let it rest for an hour, until doubled.

• Once doubled, gently knead the dough for a min getting the air out of the dough.
• Divide the dough into equal halves and let rest for another 45 mins in the same warm place.

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a cookie sheet/ baking pan.
• Transfer one dough ball onto the greased sheet/pan, gently press with your hands to make desired shape of equal thickness. (You can make 2 thin crust pizzas.)

Toppings:

Pizza Sauce (see the recipe here)

1/2 small Green Bell Pepper (thinly sliced)

1/2 small Red Onion (thinly sliced)

1/2 cup Shredded chicken (already cooked)

1/4 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

2 Fresh Mozzarella balls (sliced and cubed)

Baking:

• Spread the sauce over the dough leaving 1/2 to 1 inch from the sides.

• Top it with pepper, onion, chicken the cheeses.

• Bake for 18 mins, until the crust is golden brown and the cheeses are all melted.

• Slice it up and devour. 

Spinach-Mushroom Salad:

Ingredients:

2 handfuls Fresh Baby Spinach

2 White Button Mushrooms (thinly sliced)

1/4 Red onion (thinly sliced)

1tbsp Crumbled Feta Cheese

1tbsp Olive Oil

1tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1tsp low sodium Soy Sauce

1/4tsp Ground Black Pepper

How to:

• Toss together the spinach, mushroom, red onion and feta.

• In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce and black pepper.

• Pour the dressing over the spinach and mushroom and give it a gentle mix.

• Serve as a side with pizza.

Spinach Soufflé

A perfect brunch for you and your better half. Home made soufflé is something i have been wanting to taste for a pretty long time. I have always thought its complicated to make one, until i checked out raspberry eggplant. I substituted olive oil for butter, other than that i just followed the recipe. It came out soft and fluffy after baking and we both savored every bite of it.
Soufflé is a light, puffed up, baked cake like texture which can be made sweet and savory. It involves beaten egg whites to give the fluffiness. Soufflé generally falls after 5 or 10 mins, when removed from oven after baking. (My final picture looks a bit sunken.) And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Spinach (frozen and thawed)

1/4 cup Green bell pepper (diced & roasted)

2 Eggs (separated)

1/2 cup Milk

2/3 cup Mozzarella Cheese

2tsp Olive oil + more for greasing 

2tbsp APF + more for dusting 

Black Pepper (freshly ground)

Salt

Also required:

Soufflé dish or Ramekins

How to:

• Grease the soufflé dish or ramekins with olive oil and dust it with flour to evenly coat all the surface.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan, add the flour and whisk for few seconds, pour milk and whisk continuously until it thickens.
• Switch off or remove from heat and add the egg yolks and whisk constantly and let cool. (Careful not to scramble the yolks.)

• Beat the egg whites with a handheld mixer until it holds soft peaks.

• Add the spinach and roasted bell pepper to the yolk mixture along with the cheese, salt and pepper.

• Now add half of the egg whites and gently fold into the mixture, followed by the remaining egg whites and incorporate'em completely.

• Then pour the final mixture into the greased and floured dishes and bake for 25-28 mins or until the top is golden brown. 

• Switch on the oven light to watch the soufflé rise and never open the oven door while baking, as the risen soufflé may fall.

Serve hot from the oven.

Spinach Curry

Ingredients:

1 bunch Spinach

2tbsp Toor dal (mashed)

1/2 Yellow Onion (chopped)

2 small Green Chilli (slit)

4-5 Curry leaves

2 Garlic pods (thinly sliced)

1 1/2tsp Cumin powder

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2tsp Urad dal

2 dry red chilli

1 pinch Asafoetida

Salt

Oil

How to:

• Wash, rinse and chop the leaves.

• Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilli and asafoetida.

• Add onions along with salt and saute until tender.

• Then add curry leaves, garlic and green chilli and saute for 2 mins or until golden brown.

• Add the leaves and saute for a min. Then add cumin powder and cook for another min.

• Check salt for taste. Then switch off, add dal and mix well.

Serve hot with steamed rice or chapathi.