by Bill Spencer » Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:33 pm
%^)
From the Wednesday Chef website written by New York home cook Luisa Weiss, this recipe comes from an article on lemons written by Christopher Idone in the New York Times Magazine in the Summer of 2005 ... googling Mr. Idone, I found that he is an author of a number of cookbooks which after perusing Kathleen's bookcase of cookbooks found we didn't have one of his ... we bad !
Ms. Weiss writes that "this is one of those special recipes" that eventually gets passed along to not only your children, grandchildren, and friends but even your "arch-enemies" as it is that good ... "timeless ... elegant ... perfect ... easy" ...
Easy ? Not in Yuma, Arizona ! Try finding creme fraiche and salmon roe in this little part of the world ! But Joyofbaking.com had a recipe for making your own creme fraiche and you can order salmon roe on the internet ... can't let a small one-horse town like Yuma stop this lemon farmer from experimenting with something so intriguing as lemon pizza !
The recipe suggests this as an appetizer for eight or a lunch with salad for two ...
12 oz. Prepared pizza dough (or you can make your own, right ?)
3 Fresh lemons, washed, ends trimmed and discarded, sliced paper thin, seeds removed
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 C Creme fraiche (recipe called for 1/2 cup but Ms. Weiss said it made it "too gloppy")
4 oz. Salmon roe (recipe called for 6 ounces and Ms. Weiss didn't say why she used/liked it with less)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees ... roll pizza dough out to roughly 12 inches in diameter and very thin - about 1/6 of an inch thick ... place on a greased cookie sheet or heat a pizza stone in the oven ... cover the surface of the dough with the lemon "wheels" overlapping them slightly ... sprinkle with the pepper and olive oil ... place the cookie sheet in the oven or transfer the pizza to the hot pizza stone ... bake until dough is brown and crisp, approximately 20 minutes ... if the lemons brown too quickly, loosely cover the surface of the pizza with foil until the pizza dough is cooked through ... remove the pizza from the oven and let cool a bit ... spread the creme fraiche over the surface of the pizza and then dot with the salmon roe ... cut the finished pizza into wedges with a pizza cutter and serve ...
If you don't have a pizza cutter to slice the pizza, Ms. Weiss says don't do the pizza until you buy one - you'll "butcher" the pizza trying to slice it with any kind of knife ...
"The combination of puckery lemons (at once still sour and yet fragrant from the high heat in the oven), smooth cream, salty and soulful roe, and crunchy crust was a revelation."
Try a dry Riesling like the 2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling Indian Wells Columbia Valley or a Muscadet (my favorite) like the 2005 Louis Metaireau Muscadet Melon Loire Valley to go with the pizza ...
If you're like me and don't have access to creme fraiche, here's a recipe for making it yourself from Joyofbaking.com -
1 C Heavy whipping cream
1 T Buttermilk
In a medium saucepan over low heat warm the cream to 105 degrees F ... remove from heat and stir in the buttermilk ... transfer the cream to a large bowl and allow this mixture to stand in a warm place, loosely covered with plastic wrap ... stir and taste every 6 to 8 hours ... this process takes anywhere from 24 to 36 hours, depending on your room temperature ... the creme fraiche is ready when it is thick with a slightly nutty sour taste ... chill cream in the refrigerator for several hours before using ... creme fraiche may be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days ...
Clink !
%^)
"If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went !" - Anonymous
Napa is for auto parts, Paso is for wine !
Bill Spencer (Arizona Wine Lover)
Lemon Recipes -
http://www.associatedcitrus.com/recipes.html