quick aubergine pizza : a grain free pizza that we love

There is a series of coincidences going on in my household. This weekend I was planning to bake a thin crust pizza for dinner and a neighbor couple calls and comes home. No there is no coincidence in neighbors visiting but this couple have young kids who used to come to our place long back when Mithi was alive. These kids were remembering Mithi ki mummy ka pizza and when their parents told us this, I got thinking why I had a thought of a thin crust pizza for dinner and couldn't make because of not having the home made tomato concasse ready that I use for my homemade pizzas. Nevertheless I am baking thin crust pizzas for these kids this week.

And then I was making this eggplant rollatini from World Feast and was reminded of an eggplant (aubergine) pizza that I bake sometimes and was in an impression that I have already shared it on this blog. But when I was looking for aubergine pictures in my digital clutter that the collection of my pictures is, I found these aubergine pizza pictures that were not even processed. Then I realised this aubergine pizza never made it to the blog. This aubergine pizza was made and photographed last December on a weekend, and photographed in day time. We rarely eat any kind of pizza in day time and rarely have the patience to shoot them before the cheese sets again while the pizza gets cold. That explains the absence of pizzas of all kinds on this blog except this buckwheat base pizza that I make when we have fresh rucola growing in the garden.

But none of the pizzas I bake is simpler than this one. Just slice the vegetables, layer up and bake.
No dough no distress ;-)

So coincidence or serendipity brought this aubergine pizza out of the closet and here it is. A delicious pizza can't be any better believe me. Can't be quicker either.

You just have to slice big round aubergines. Take care to use only fresh aubergines without seeds. Brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle salt on them.

Then you slice really fresh, ripe and the most flavourful tomatoes you can get. Some sliced or minced garlic cloves, some torn basil and oregano, red chilly flakes and salt to be sprinkled. Go by your mood when deciding the quantity of seasoning and herbs. you need not sprinkle any salt over the tomatoes but go by your instinct.

Then bake for 5 minutes at 250 C in a preheated oven. Now is the time to slice some mozzarella cheese thickly and spread over the hot layers of aubergine, tomato and herbs.  Bake again for a couple of minutes till the cheese bubbles.

Serve immediately.

Bubbling stringy mozzarella cheese has a way to enhance the taste of tomatoes and aubergine. The herbs and seasonings help to get it irresistible.

You wouldn't feel the need to have a 'base' for this pizza as the aubergine slices give this pizza a stable base that holds fine. Keep the slices of aubergine a bit thick and let them cook thoroughly in the first round of baking. Sometimes I add minced red bell peppers or minced or sliced mushrooms over the tomato slice but that is not obligatory.

I have done many experiments with making a 'pizza base' using vegetables including cauliflowers, cabbage and even potato slices but the best taste was with aubergines to be honest. Although Arvind likes the potato version too.

And here is the last bit of coincidence that happened just now. I had suggested 'aubergine' as one of the vegetables to be included in the next week's meal plan of a new client of mine who is a young girl not very well acquainted with kitchen and she wrote back immediately asking for what is an 'aubergine'?

I am not joking :-)

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Lahm Bi-A'jin, Lahmajun or Sfiha, a middle eastern bread with mutton mince and purslane topping | the Arab pizza made my way

Arab pizza? Yes this flat bread is baked with a delicious topping and looks like pizza. Known as Lahmajun in Armenia, Lahm Bi-A'jin in Syria and Lebanan and Sfiha in Jordan, this flat bread with a meat mince topping is as good as the regular pizza although the flavour profile is entirely different. More earthy, more filling and completely a different experience than the regular Italian pizza, although the looks are similar. But then we know so many versions of flat breads around the globe that it feels very natural to find similar looking recipes in one corner of the globe with an interesting bunch of flavours. This Lahm Bi-A'jin is one of those recipes.

One can make a vegetarian version with crumbled paneer or a thick tomato sauce or mashed eggplants and cheese or with any topping one can imagine as this bread is quite easy to make. I found it here some time ago, adjusted it to my taste and have been making Lahm Bi-a'jin since then. Sometimes I fold the bread like a calzone for the ease of packing it into the lunch box of the husband.

This time I cooked it using the most nourishing greens of the season, Purslane. I have been using purslane to make pizza sauce sometimes but adding it to minced meat and flavouring it with Za'atar was such a brilliant idea. The minced meat and purslane mix was just too good to resist. Dusted generously with home made Za'atar.

Ingredients for the flat bread base will be similar to any standard pizza base recipe you use. I used my standard whole wheat bread recipe for the dough. Roll out flat breads of any size and spread the cooked mutton mince mixture over them and bake till the flat bread is pinkish brown on the edges and the mince mix is sizzling.

ingredients for the mutton mince and purslane topping of Arab pizza
(for 4 large pizzas, enough for 4 people)
mutton mince 300 gm
purslane greens (chopped finely) 250 gm
garlic minced 5-6 cloves (or as generous you want to be with garlic)
red chilly flakes 1 tsp or as per taste
fresh thyme leaves 6-7 springs
extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp
salt to taste
Za'atar 2 tbsp or more
toasted sesame seeds 1 tbsp
toasted sesame powder 1 tbsp

procedure

Pour the olive oil in a heavy base pan and tip in the minced garlic and red chilly flakes and then place the pan over stove. As the oil starts sizzling add the finely chopped purslane greens along with salt and stir fry till the purslane wilts.

Add the minced meat and thyme leaves, mix well and cook covered on medium heat till the mince is cooked, the purslane greens get almost homogenized with the mince, changing it's colour and appearance. Adjust seasoning and add the toasted sesame powder, dehydrate the mixture so it doesn't ooze liquids on the pizza base.

Spread a generous mince mixture over a rolled out thin bread base and bake for 10 minutes at 200 C on the middle rack. Keep an eye on the pizza as it can get burnt or stay raw in the middle.

Sprinkle Za'atar over the hot Arab pizza along with some more toasted sesame if you like and serve hot with some green salad on the side.

The minced meat and purslane along with Za'atar make a very interesting flavour base together. I have been cooking this purslane and keema scramble even as an everyday curry for ourselves. I keep it a bit moist or even runny if I am planning to serve it along with roti or paranthas.

I am sure Lahm Bi-A'jin will become a new favourite pizza the day you cook it. Especially if you have a carnivore family. Make it using paneer scramble with spinach or purslane if you are a vegetarian but don't forget to sprinkle a generous handful of Za'atar over it.

If you don't have Za'atar you can coarsely powder fresh thyme leaves, coarse sea salt, toasted sesame seeds and sumac (or dried limes). It works nicely with this recipe or on plain flat breads too.

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