These mini pizzas don't skimp on flavor. They're loaded with lemon zest, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a hint of garlic powder.
It’s fall, which really means 2 things. It’s not only pumpkin season, but it’s also cookbook season! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing recipes from some of my favorite new cookbooks. Today’s recipe comes from How to Celebrate Everything, by Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner a Love Story. I’ve been reading her blog for years and I had the pleasure of meeting her (and having a total fan-girl moment) a few months ago.
I have to say – I love this book because it’s one of those cookbooks that you want to snuggle up with and read from cover to cover. For starters, I just love her writing. Reading this book is like having coffee with a good friend. Jenny talks all about how she creates family food rituals not just for the big holidays (although there are recipes for those too) but for the smaller life events that are no less important. Events like a weekend walk to the farmers market that ends with tomato sandwiches, an end-of-the-school-year celebration with a neighborly “bus stop social”, birthday breakfasts, pizza Fridays, etc, etc, etc.
Reading her book inspired me to create some new rituals of my own because I realized how many rituals I actually don’t have… that is unless you count Jack’s birthday carrot cake, the butternut squash soup I make on the first day of fall, or the wine I drink to celebrate 5pm. But, hey, I guess those DO count, but there’s always room for more!
Now on to the recipe! In the book this is an apres ski meal. Since we don’t have mountains (or snow) in Texas, I just decided that broccolini + chickpeas + pizza (with lots of lemon zest) sounded like a delicious way to celebrate Monday.
I took a big shortcut and baked my pizzas onto pre-made mini naan breads – see her recipe below to make a big rectangular pizza using real dough 🙂
Next on my list – these popovers! How good do they look?
Click here to get the book! We’re also giving away a copy – to enter, leave a comment below telling me about one of your favorite family food rituals. The giveaway will close this Friday. Open to U.S. residents only.
Jenny's Broccolini Chickpea Pizza
- 4 tablespoons good-quality olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 1 16-ounce ball store-bought pizza dough, preferably sitting out at room temerature for about 15 minutes to warm up a bit and rise.
- 1 8-ounce ball fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
- 1 large bunch of broccolini (about 8 ounces), roughly chopped (including stems and leaves)
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Preheat the oven to 475°F. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, grease a 17x12 inch rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Drop the pizza dough into the center of the baking sheet and, using your fingers, press out and flatten the dough so it spreads as close as possible to all four corners. Cover the dough with the mozzarella slices, leaving a ½ inch border around the perimeter.
- In a large bowl, toss the broccolini, chickpeas, lemon zest, and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, then give it all another toss.
- Using your hands, add the broccoli-chickpea mixture on top of the mozzarella in an even layer. Shower with the grated Parm and brush the exposed edge of the crust with a little oil.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust looks golden and the broccolini looks crispy and dark brown, but not black-burnt. (You can always cover the toppings with foil if the broccolini looks ready before the crust is.) Remove the pizza to a cutting board to cool. Slice into eight rectangular pieces and serve.
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We make macaroni and cheese (the real deal stuff) once a year (ok, maybe twice!) and we have intense discussions as to whether a particular occasion is the right one! Half the fun is the getting excited about it!
Our family does a spring roll night every weekend in the summertime!
My favorite family food ritual growing up was getting to choose what Mom made for our birthday meal!
My family food ritual is cooking a recipe my Grandmother taught me – almost cabbage rolls – my kids love it and I try to cook it once a week when I can
Getting to choose where to go out to dinner for our birthdays as a kid was always a treat. 🙂
Because my son is on the autism spectrum, food needs to be mostly predictable. Our rituals happen just about every night of the week. So, we have potpie Sundays, spaghetti Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, eat out Wednesdays, Macaroni Thursdays, and pizza Fridays. Saturday is up for grabs.
I didn’t think I would like this at first, but it has made me be more inventive with the “adult” portions.
Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning!! I grew up with this and now I make them for myself and my husband (and hopefully, our future family!)
Our family’s on both sides have many traditions, but I think the one that has stuck with my family the most is Cream Brulee every Christmas. And then we also make it a point to have a big meal with all of our kids an there families after hunting season opens.
every thanksgiving/christmas i make THE CORN, which is a very simple garlic sesame basil corn from a recipe i got from my mother. my husband craves it all year and luckily both of our kids have become huge fans of THE CORN.
My traditions have seemed to change over the years but one thing that seems to hold on for dear life is my grandpa’s wine poached cranberry sauce that seems to grow more potent each Thanksgiving *__*
Oh, so many.
I have to go with: birthday cake.
Always. No excuses.
My daugheter, who is now 14, makes scones and cranberry jam for us every Christmas!
In the winter we have soup night once a week. It is always my favorite meal of the week!
I am from South Louisiana. Our traditional food is not always the healthiest, but is always surrounded around family and memory-making-moments! My favorite tradition is my grandfather’s gumbo for Christmas decorating day. My cousins and I all help decorate our grandparents home for Christmas and afterwards enjoy a delicious bowl of gumbo!
When I was little, we always got to choose what we wanted for our birthday dinner and cake. I continued this tradition with my husband and daughter. Yesterday we celebrated my daughter’s birthday with red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting.
Swedish meatballs and glogg for Christmas!
My family has a delicious birthday cake ritual–always chocolate cake with caramel icing and learning how to make the caramel icing is a tradition passed down in the family too!
My husband and I always go out to breakfast on the first day it rains. Even if that means being a little late to work :).
That’s so cute!! 🙂
One of my favorite family food rituals is making a ton of Norwegian lefse in November to prepare for the holiday season ahead!
My family food ritual is to have a taco bake or veggie tacos once a week. We all love mexican food!!