By Dana Jacobi
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Fads in pizza are nothing new. Thick-crusted Sicilian pizza, deep-dish Chicago-style pizza, and Hawaiian pizza topped with pineapple are a few examples.

The most recent pizza fad in my neighborhood is thin-crusted New York pizza topped with fresh salad. As in lettuce, tomato, onion and sweet pepper. "Has to be a gimmick from California," I said the first time I saw it. When I finally tried it, I found it not only tasted delicious but amazingly, the chopped veggies stayed put when I folded it lengthwise and ate it. Okay, a few tomatoes and some lettuce fell off, but that beats the oil that so often drips from the usual mozzarella-topped slice. How ever do they do this?

I persuaded the Neapolitan pizza maker to let me watch him make this colorful pizza and explain its secrets. First, you bake the usual crust topped with a simple tomato sauce. The sauce's flavor compliments the salad and gives it a base to cling to. But spread it lightly. Too much and the crust goes soggy and the salad's flavor is overwhelmed. Second, chop the salad well and put it on while the pizza is fresh and hot, pressing it gently into the sauce. Finally, dressing the salad sounds wrong, but the right amount of vinaigrette actually softens the vegetables slightly, helping them cling, and the sharp flavor is perfect. Serve salad pizza warm or at room temperature, with the salad slightly wilted, which actually brings out its flavor.

You can use prepared pizza dough, a pre-baked pizza bread shell, or make your own. Ideally, the shell should be made using at least some whole-wheat flour. For the sauce, commercially prepared marinara or plain pizza sauce is just fine.

Salad Pizza

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium bunch arugula or other leafy
  • greens, rinsed, drained and finely chopped
  • 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
  • 1 small red onion, diced small
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • Whole-wheat pizza dough, prepared
  • pizza dough, or pre-baked shell, enough for 4 9-inch pizzas
  • 3/4-1 cup prepared pizza sauce, depending on pizza shells
  • 1/4 cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)

Directions

  • Place greens in a mixing bowl. Add tomato, onion, peppers.
  • Mix oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Add to vegetables, tossing with fork to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 525 ° F. If using dough, roll it out to make four 9-inch round pizzas. Let rise according to recipe directions. Top each pizza with 3 tablespoons prepared sauce, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Bake 8 minutes, or until crisp.
  • While hot, top each pizza with one-fourth of the salad, pressing it into the sauce. (If using a pre-baked shell, which is thicker and uneven on top, start with 1 cup of the salad and add as much more as the pizza can hold.
  • Cut pizza into individual servings and serve immediately, or at room temperature.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
247 calories,
5 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat),
42 g. carbohydrate,
8 g. protein,
3 g. dietary fiber,
611 mg. sodium.

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Bread/Starch, 2 Vegetable, 1 Lean-Meat, 1/2 Fat

Dana Jacobi is a culinary professional and writer whose food appeals to everyone interested in eating well - deliciously and for good health. She has written several cookbooks, including The Best of Clay Pot Cooking and The Joy of Soy. A James Beard Award Finalist (as The Natural Kitchen: SOY!) this book redefined cooking with soyfoods in dishes for everybody. This article appears courtesy of AICR.


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