Green Tomato Pizza

Last year we spent our Labor Day at Stony Creek Farm in the Catskills. It was a “farm-stay” getaway, the latest trend in agritourism where you get to harvest your own vegetables for dinner, collect freshly-laid, still-warm eggs right from a henhouse, then cook it all up on a wood-burning stove in your tented cabin. Because it was a Feather Down Farm (one of three in the US), we weren’t exactly roughing it — there was a bathroom in the cabin, there were clean, soft sheets, there were enclosed bunk beds for the girls that had little hearts carved into the doors. I wrote about it for the September issue of Whole Living (no specific link yet; you’ll have to pick it up on the newsstand) if you are interested in learning more, but what I really wanted to tell you about here is the green tomato and caramelized onion pizza that the owners of the farm baked for us on “Pizza Night.” (Every Feather Down Farm has this ritual.) Almost a year later, the pizza, with its distinct sweet-and-sour freshness, was still at the top of my ever-growing mental checklist of “Things I Must Attempt to Replicate.” (Also on the list: Philip Roth’s Writing…book club tonight: American Pastoral!) We did it last weekend, and though we didn’t have an outdoor brick oven like they did at the farm, we had Jim Lahey’s no-fail pizza crust…which was just as mind-blowing.

Green Tomato and Caramelized Onion Pizza
If you don’t think the kids are going to go for green tomatoes, you can swap in red ones for “their side” of the pie.

The crust:

3 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or other active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 cup room-temperature water

The toppings:

1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced
2 green tomatoes, sliced
1 large onion, sliced and caramelized (Cook slices in olive oil on low heat for 15-30 minutes, adding the tiniest touch of balsamic at the end if you want; it’s impossible to overcook them.)
Fresh Parmesan

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until blended, at least 30 seconds. The dough will be stiff, not wet and sticky. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Divide the pizza dough in two and shape each into flattened balls. Freeze one for later and stretch the other one out to fill an oiled, rimmed, rectangular cookie sheet (using your fingers and the heels of your hands).

Distribute mozzarella on the crust evenly, then top with onions and tomato slices. (Reserve a few tomato slices to add to pizza after it has been baked.) Bake for 15 minutes until crust looks crispy and golden and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven, add the reserved tomatoes and some fresh Parmesan.

Other pizza ideas: Pizza, Patty, and Purses; Split-personality Pizza; Arugula & Prosciutto Pizza.

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8 Comments

becky

I’ll look for the issue on the newsstand. I am intrigued by this type of family vacation. Also, I’m so excited for next Monday b/c I’ll be receiving your cookbook. It’s going to be like Christmas!
Thank you for all of your great ideas and for the inspiration to raise a healthy and happy family!

Reply
Rebecca

What a good use for green tomatoes! Oh and by the way, I tried the JL Pizza crust last weekend for my grilled pizza birthday party. I also made a batch of dough in my bread maker for comparison. The JL dough was much easier to work with and held up well on the grill. I think pizzas on the grill are definitely the next best thing to having your own wood fired backyard pizza oven. Cheers!

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kathy

I went through pizza crust making obsession last fall and discovered that King Arthur perfect pizza blend flour really makes a better crust. You can get it at their website. I also found that par-baking the crust for seven minutes before topping it makes a crispier crust.

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bianca

I don’t enjoy “roughing it”; but if my reward was this pizza, I could perhaps be persuaded!

I’m excited to read the full rundown.

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Mary

I made this and totally impressed my husband with the pizza crust! We’ve had many a soggy disappointment in the past. Now that we can have tasty pizza at home I have again been given the level of domestic honors that came with my mastery of the grilled hot wing haha. I had to sub sharp cheddar and it was super tasty. Loved the green tomatoes!

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Dave

Thanks so much for this post! Last night, was pizza night at our house. We bought two doughs from Trader Joes (plain crust for the kiddies, herbed crust for us). We were looking for something new for our pie – and found a perfect use for all those green tomatoes that were sitting on the sheft (rescued from our recently deceased tomato plant). A little pesto, garlic, salt, pepper, parm cheese and we had a great meal. Thanks so much and keep up the great work on the site!

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bridgit

Just reading the title almost made me cry. This sounds SO good, and with 30 tomato plants in my front yard, I’d really love to do something with some of those tomatoes while they’re still green. Why did the title make me cry? There is no pizza dough in my fridge (I use the healthy bread in 5 method). On the up side? Tomorrow night’s dinner is decided. Thank you.

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