Buckwheat Arugula Pizza

"No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don't have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have." - Seneca

Freshly Made Buckwheat Arugula Pizza

Spring has arrived and thus means that arugula is growing fast, wild and plentiful, trying to beat the inevitable heat that will cause it to bolt and die off. Utilizing all of this arugula can be a bit of an art. Picking and eating it raw in salads is great but how much arugula can one person really eat? Plus, as it gets hotter outside, the arugula quickly goes from a little bitter to a lot of bitter, making it less appealing for eating it raw. So, what do you do with all of it?

When greens get spicy / bitter, if they are heated up a little, whether that be in a stir fry or by being baked, that takes the edge off of them and can knock down if not eliminate the spiciness / bitterness.

When spring gives you mass amounts of arugula, make pizza, very specifically arugula pizza with a buckwheat crust!

Buckwheat... What?... What is that?

Thank you for asking, we're not going to get into it too much right now but in short, buckwheat is a grain that has a glycemic index of about 45 to 50, so it keeps your blood sugar low(ish), plus it's gluten free and is jam packed with fiber, vitamins, and all sorts of other things that are good for you! Buckwheat Rocks!

This is more of a fancy pizza recipe that you'd find in a 5 star restaurant or really fancy hotel. However, it's incredibly easy to make and very tasty. The main trick is after you mix the ingredients that make-up the dough, let it rest for at least 20 minutes, preferably 60 minutes. This allows the buckwheat to rehydrate and congeal with everything. If you don't do this, you'll end up with a gritty pizza crust which probably not that many people would enjoy.

This is made in a cast iron pan inside an oven. No need for any fancy equipment, no baking stone, not even any yeast.

What You Need:

-1 Cup Buckwheat Flour

-1/4 tsp Baking Powder

-Dash of Salt

-3/4 Cup Warm Water

-Few Dashes of Italian Seasoning

-Few Dashes of Rosemary

-Few Dashes of Basil

-Diced Tomatoes or Tomato Sauce

-Mozzarella or goat cheese (or your favorite cheese or cheese alternative)

-Canola Oil or Your Favorite High Heat Oil (Ghee is a good option too)

-Cast Iron Skillet

-Oven

What You Do:

1) In a bowl, mix together the Buckwheat Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Italian Seasoning, Basil and Rosemary with the warm water and a dash of oil. Mix together until it has the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Let the batter rest for 20 to 60 minutes. Do Not Skip This Step unless you like a gritty pizza crust.

2) 20 minutes before you're going to throw this in the oven, preheat the oven to 400, coat the cast iron skillet with the Canola oil or your choice of high heat oil and heat up the cast iron skillet in the oven.

3) Once the dough has rested and the oven is preheated, take the cast iron skillet out of the oven and pour the batter into the skillet in swirling pattern to try and get a little batter across the entire surface of the skillet. Take a spoon or fork and spread the batter around so you have a thin layer of batter across the entire skillet. You have to work fast with this step as with the skillet being preheated, the batter starts cooking immediately. Pour fast, spread fast. Put the skillet back in the oven (no other ingredients on it yet).

4) Cook the crust for 7 minutes in the oven. After 7 minutes, take the skillet out, the crust should be formed, it should no longer be batter but should still be soft and pliable (it's going to be cooked further). Now we're going to add the next layer of ingredients. Add the tomato's / tomato sauce, sprinkle on some more Italian Seasoning and Rosemary. Add the Mozzarella / Goat Cheese or your choice of cheese / cheese alternative. Do Not Add the arugula yet (we don't want to over bake the arugula, unless you like charred arugula). Put the skillet back in the oven.

5) Bake for another 7 minutes then take the skillet out. Now add the Arugula on top of the mostly melted cheese. Add the skillet back to the oven.

6) Cook for another 3 minutes (5 minutes if you really piled on the arugula).

7) Take the skillet back out of the oven, let rest for 5 minutes, then slice it up.

8) Enjoy your very fancy, spring-time pizza!

Pro Tips: If you really want to kick this up a notch it can be served with a light drizzle of real balsamic vinegar or you could add thinly sliced radishes with the arugula. Radishes are surprisingly good on pizza too. If you happen to live on the Front Range of Colorado, Moxie Bread Co just so happens to have their own Buckwheat Flour that is locally milled and is a little cheaper than what you can get online, plus you can keep your dollars in a local business and get a most excellent cup of coffee at the same time!