Pizza!!!

Hi everyone! Happy holidays! I’ve had a huge surplus of free time these days, and have been stewing in boredom.

I decided to try something new today and made a pizza from scratch on my brazier. From start to finish, it took me about two hours, and was a lovely distraction.

First, I caramelized onions for this pizza.

After I finished those and set them aside, I made my cheese! Ricotta is fairly easy to make in the village; you just let milk come to a boil, add in a small splash of lemon juice or vinegar to cuddle it, strain it over a cheesecloth and bowl, and squeeze out the excess moisture.

I had never made pizza dough from scratch before (even though I used to work at a pizza shop!), and my attempt was alright. Once I made it, I put it into a pan and layered up the toppings: alfredo for the base, ricotta, caramelized onions and garlic.

Up until now, I hadn’t attempted baking anything in the village, but I had an idea of how to set up a brazier oven. Essentially, you start it as usual, take out some of the hot coals, set down an upside-down pot, set your baking pan on top of that (as baking directly on the coals would have been too extreme of heat), and then setting on top of the baking pan another upside-down pan, and putting hot coals on top of that, so it can bake from the top and the bottom.

My pizza baked for about 30 minutes, and for a first attempt, I was very pleased! The crust was crispy on the bottom and nice and chewy, and so flavorful!

This was a lovely, delicious way to spend my time this afternoon, and cooking is always cathartic and relaxing. Making this pizza may have dirtied almost all of my dishes, but it was absolutely worth it to have an indulgent, time-consuming lunch.

Cooking has been a really nice escape for me in the village, and it’s fun to figure out how to adapt recipes to limited ingredients or brazier cooking. Some of my personal favorite meals have been: gnocchi with garlic alfredo, breakfast hashes, and curries!

I’ve also made mango jam, and plan on attempting mango wine soon! Have a recipe you think I’d like to attempt in the village? Let me know in the comments below. Happy eating 🙂