Gridiron Grub: Sweet P Slices

So here we are again, another week of football and food. This entire series came from the idea that the two go hand-in-hand in this country. It is so ingrained in our culture that even someone who has no interest in the sport has probably attended a Super Bowl Party or gone tailgating.  I remember 2 things about the first Super Bowl party I ever attended: that girls were invited (back when they still had cooties) and that we got to stay up late and order whatever toppings we wanted on our pizza.

Just like  your favorite football team or player, pizza is always up for debate. Whether it is what cities or shops make the best pizza or whether you choose to call it a pie, tray or dish, everyone always have very strong opinions. My go-to pizza  is a vodka sauce-covered cut of Old Forge style pizza, but I don’t think I have met a pizza yet I didn’t enjoy. This week, after daydreaming about a fave local Indian restaurant  but not getting a chance to go, I decided to mash up the taste of Indian sweet potato roti and a laundry list of ingredients I had on hand for  Sweet P Slices:

Recipe after the jump.

Dough:

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• ¾ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 sweet potato, mashed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom
• 3/4 cup hot water

Mix together the yeast and hot water in a small bowl to dissolve. Leave the bowl in a warm place until a froth forms. While this is going on, sift together  flours, cardamom and salt. Add your mashed sweet potato to the dry mixture and blend until it crumbles between your fingers. When the yeast mix is nice and rabid, make a well in the center of the  flour mix and pour the mixture in. Mix together and knead to make smooth dough.

Wrap this dough in greased saran wrap and let it sit in a warm place for an hour. Once the dough is twice its original size….Pizza time! Roll the dough out, brush on some EVOO and toss it in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes while assembling the toppings

Toppings:

• 1/2 cup cremini ‘shrooms
• 1-2 tablespoons of chopped nicoise olives (mine had been marinated in rosemary infused oil).
• 1-2 tablespoons chevre (check out another Goat Cheese influenced Gridiron Grub post.)
• cracked black pepper
• 3 cloves of roast garlic sliced as thin as you can get them
• drizzle of chestnut honey over everything

Take the crust out of the oven and add the toppings before popping back in for another 10 minutes. After the ten minutes are up, cut it up however you want and serve. There is a lot going on here but it all works well.

Bonus! Last week we also issued the challenge to hear your pizza ideas and the best one I came across was from an ES favorite, Macheesmo.

Fire/Smoke Pizza

– Chipotle marinara sauce
– 2 ounces shredded low moisture mozzarella
– 6 ounces shredded smoked gouda
– 1/4 red onion, sliced
– 1/2 roasted red pepper, sliced (I just bought the jarred variety.)

It sounds delicious so if you want to cheat on ES and read his recipe, go ahead, but we may just give you the silent treatment until next week’s post.

(PHOTOGRAPH: DARA Mac DÓNAILL)