Buckwheat Bacon Pizza

One of the best things about selling at a farmers market is speaking to so many wonderful people. I met one lady at the City Market on 104 St on Saturday May 26th who was sampling some of our shoots. She commented that Buckwheat tastes very similar to arugula and asked if we had ever tried it on pizza. What an idea! I wish I had caught her name because this experiment was an instant hit at our house and I’d like to give credit where it is due.

As always, I am a firm believer in cooking food how it is convenient and how you like to eat it. I have included what I used for a soft, thick, home made pizza dough. But if you are in a hurry or prefer thin crusts instead then buy a premade crust or use a different recipe! Experiment away and send me your thoughts/ pictures when you are done!

Dough:

• 1 1/2 C warm water
• 1 packet (8 g or about 3 t) fast rising yeast
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 t salt
• 2 T granulated sugar
• 2 C of white flour

Balsamic Glaze:

• 1 C balsamic vinegar
• 1 T heaping of honey

Sauce:

• 1 can (2 oz) tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic minced fine
• 1 T dried basil
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 t dried marjoram

Toppings:

• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 C Parmesan cheese grated
• 3 C Mozzerella cheese grated
• 1/2 lb bacon fried
• 250g Prosciutto
• 6 oz Buckwheat

Instructions:

Dough:

Add warm water and yeast to a large, wide bowl (its easier to need in a bowl you can get both your hands into) or a stand mixer bowl. Let sit 5 minutes. Add oil, salt and sugar and whisk with a fork or stir to combine. Next add flour a little at a time while whisking or with the dough paddle on the mixer. Keep adding flour until you have given up on the fork and are kneading with your hands and the dough forms a ball. (The exact amount of flour added will be a little different for different flours, so use your own discretion.) The dough shouldn’t stick to clean hands or surfaces when it has had enough flour.

Let dough rest in a covered bowl until it has doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Makes 2 medium sized pizzas.

Sauce:

Note: the longer this sits the more delicious it will become so do this as soon as you are done your dough and set it aside until you are ready for it. Chop garlic fine. Combine all ingredients and stir well.

Balsamic Glaze:

Just throw the vinegar and honey in a pot and bring to a boil. Continue simmering and stirring occasionally until the volume of the vinegar is reduced by half and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. About 15 minutes. Note: the longer you leave it the more of a caramelized flavour the vinegar will take on so taste as you go. Be careful-its hot!

Assemble the pizza:

Clean and medium chop the peppers. Splash with a small amount (about 1 T) of olive oil and roast in oven at 375°F until tender. Fry bacon and chop.

Roll out half of your pizza dough at a time. Spread both generously with pizza sauce. Add half of each of the remaining ingredients to each pizza in the following order: prosciutto, Parmesan, mozzarella, peppers and finally bacon.

Bake at 375°F for about 30 mins until lightly brown on bottom. Remove from oven and add buckwheat. Return to oven for another 5 minutes. The buckwheat will cook down so be generous.

Serve drizzled with balsamic reduction.

Enjoy!

A Peace of Buckwheat Bacon Pizza 😉

Buckwheat Bacon Pizza

Buckwheat Bacon Pizza