Mustard Green and Turnip Green Pizza

Meal planning, it turns out, is crucial when you join a CSA. Joining a CSA means that you will have a) spectacular amounts of vegetables to use up in one week, and b) unfamiliar ingredients. This, of course, is a large part of the fun. You will have to adopt new techniques and try out new recipes in order to use up all the vegetables. Will and I have had a great time trying new things, but we have one no fail strategy in our back pocket that we use at least once a week: When in doubt, throw it on a pizza.

Which is just what we did this week with our mustard and turnip greens. We received some beautiful, small turnips in our bag this week, and our farmer, Peter told us to be sure to try the greens (do I remind you of Ina Garten??). I googled some recipes for mustard and turnip greens when I went home, wondering how to use them. Mustard and turnip greens are a staple of Southern cooking, so of course most of the recipes instructed adding bacon fat to the ingredients. I figured that I could skimp on the bacon if I just added some cheese instead. Both greens seemed to have similar prepartion suggestions, so I rightly assumed they had a similar flavor profile. I sauteed them on in a pan with some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and then took them off the stove and finished them off with a bit of lemon juice.

When I tasted the greens, they reminded me very strongly of broccoli rabe. My absolute favorite pizza of all time is topped with broccoli rabe, garlic, and Parmesan and ricotta cheeses, so I figured the greens would sub in nicely. I was right. This pizza was absolutely delicious and I am crossing my fingers for some more mustard and turnip greens this week!

And now, a dirty little secret: pizza dough is my Achilles heel. I don’t know what it is, but my pizza dough has turned out terrible every time I’ve made it. Too dry, too sticky, hasn’t risen… you name it, I’ve messed it up. I know, I know, its supposed to be easy to make. And I promise that I will conquer it someday. But for now, I have to tell you that I mostly just buy my dough from Whole Foods. Oh well, no one’s perfect.

MUSTARD GREEN & TURNIP GREEN PIZZA (by me)

Serves 4

I always throw an ice cube in the oven every few minutes when I cook pizza. This is a trick I learned from my mom. The ice cube melts and adds humidity to the oven, which crisps up the crust. Give it a shot and you won’t be sorry!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons EVOO + a little more for greasing the pan

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on how much heat you like)

1.5-3 cups mustard greens and/or turnip greens

Juice of 1/4 lemon

1/2 lb pizza dough (enough for one round, thin crust pizza)

Cornmeal (for sprinkling the pan)

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/3 cup whole milk ricotta

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Recipe

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a medium sized frying pan on medium-high heat. Add olive oil and get it hot. Add chopped garlic and cook until garlic is lightly browned. Add red pepper flakes then the greens. Cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Put greens on a plate, and squeeze 1/4 lemon over green.

Lightly coat pizza pan with EVOO, sprinkle cornmeal generously on top. Roll out a 12-14 inch disk of pizza and place on pizza pan. Place greens on pizza, then parmesan, then place dollops of ricotta across pizza. Season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and throw an ice cube on the oven floor. Every 3 or 4 minutes, throw another ice cube into the oven. Bake 8-12 minutes until crust is nice and brown.