It is amazing to me how we divvy up our lives. Seasons, months, workdays, weekends, breakfast time, happy hour, vacation etc. Despite this, none of these slow the march of time. In fact, it feels to me that these divisions almost cause time to feel as if it has progressed faster. How often are you saying to yourself, “where did the year go? It feels like we just celebrated the Holidays.” One specific break of time that goes more quickly than all of the others? Meal times. Can you remember what you ate for dinner a week ago? Or try lunch. It was most likely at your desk so it may have been more rushed and less memorable.
It is so easy to forget how eating with more intention helps us enjoy the food more, eat less and feel more satisfied. I had forgotten this myself until I had a delicious, lengthy dinner out with a friend. We were talking, laughing and everything tasted richer. Try this for at least one meal this week. Savor the meal, fully enjoy your company. If you are eating alone, put down your phone or newspaper. Think about each bite, notice the crunch of the kale or slightly sweet taste in those beets. A great time to do this is often when we eat out! Slow down the march of time by savoring each bite and experiencing your food.
For me, seasonal food often forces this to happen. Because these foods aren’t around very long, planning the meal takes a bit more intention and forethought. Garlic spears or garlic scapes (which are in season in May and June for most areas in the US) is a perfect example. They can be grilled, oven roasted, pan sautéed and used in a pesto. They taste like the garlicky bright beginning of summer.
When we are busy purposefully enjoying our meal, music can add or take away from this very easily. If you dislike the music, it can stain the memory of the meal. If you are singing along, then you often are not focusing on the flavors and textures. In Colour, I believe, provides great background sound that enhances the meal and elevates the atmosphere. While I do enjoy listening to this album without food and emersing myself in Jamie xx’s skills, it pairs very well with a meal where the focus is almost entirely on experiencing each bite.
Vinyl: Jamie xx – In Colour
Grilled Garlic Scape Pizza
Active Prep Time – 5 minutes
Inactive Prep Time – 60 minutes
Cook Time – 20- 30 minutes
Total Active Time – 25-35 minutes
Serves approx. 2-4
Ingredients
- 1 bag of prepared pizza dough (white or wheat)
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 10-15 garlic scapes
- 2 balls of burrata (typically one container has two)
- 1/4 lb of speck, prosciutto or bresaola
- Cracked black pepper
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- About an hour before you want to grill the pizza, take the dough out of the fridge. Pour 1 Tbsp of the olive oil on a baking sheet and place the dough on this oil, out of the package. This time will help the dough relax enough to be pliable.
- After an hour, turn your grill on and preheat to 500 degrees F.
- Pour the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on the garlic scapes over a plate. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Using your still oiled fingers, divide the pizza dough into two equal portions. Using your fingers and working from the center of the dough out, begin to the spread the dough on the baking sheet. Patience is a virtue when it comes to pizza dough. You will be working your way from the center, turning the dough in circles, toward the crust. The goal is to have the crust be 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick, thinner if you enjoy thin crust pizza. Remember it will rise while grilling!
- Head out to the grill! Bring with you: the pizza dough, the oiled garlic scapes, any grilling utensils you use, the burrata (still whole), a small knife, small cutting surface and the speck. Don’t forget your grilling beverage!
- Turn the grill to medium low heat and place the garlic scapes on the grill. Grill for about three minutes and turn, grilling for another three minutes. Remove from the grill and place back on their plate.
- Turn the grill back to high heat and wait for the grill to return to 500 degrees F. Once this has happened, carefully transport the pizza dough to the grill. Grill for 2-3 minutes until puffed nicely and then flip.
- While the dough is grilling, thinly slice the burrata. This is not an easy task, fear not, you are not alone in thinking it isn’t. Because the burrata has a luscious cream inside, cutting it last minute will help keep some of this intact.
- After flipping the dough, spread the burrata on the grilled side as evenly as possible. This will be our pizza ‘sauce’. Top with the speck and grilled garlic scapes.
- Grill with the lid closed until done, about 4-5 minutes. The crust will be a beautiful dark brown and the cheese will have melted slightly.
- Top with a sprinkle of cracked black pepper. Savor this meal!
Notes:
Yes, this pizza has no sauce! Technically the burrata, which is filled with cream, will make a white sauce. Feel free to doctor this as you see fit. This is the beauty of pizza. However, this recipe needs NO doctoring. It is delicious as is. Otherwise it wouldnt have made it to LPP!
You can easily make your pizza dough from scratch. My favorite recipe is from The Bread Bible. Given that I’m still in a moving phase, I did not make my own dough. Forgive me.
This paired deliciously with a slightly heavier Pinot Noir, although a velvety Syrah would also go well with this pizza.
Do not forget, savor this meal. Enjoy all the different textures, the salty, the slightly sweet and the way the garlic scapes have mellowed from the grill. Let me know what you think!