This heart-shaped pizza with walnuts and cheese is somewhat a continuation of the previous recipe.
That is, the artichoke focaccia that you all appreciated a couple of days ago. And being undecided whether to call it pizza or focaccia, and having decided on focaccia… today I’m evening the score and calling this heart-shaped one a pizza. 😄
Help… ah ah I hope not to incur the wrath of the purists of perfect naming! because this thing of calling everything by the right name sometimes gives me anxiety! Sure, I know, a pizza is a pizza and a focaccia is a focaccia, but… heart-shaped pizza sounds better to me than heart-shaped focaccia, oh. 😄
The artichoke one and this walnut one were made on the same day, from the same dough leavened with licoli. A dough I should write a base recipe for, as it is so at home here in my house. A dough that once upon a time (i.e., when I was inexperienced with leavened doughs and followed the recipe from a small cookbook bought at a newsstand) I knew as ‘bread dough’, even though I always used it solely for homemade pizza, which when I didn’t add tomato, I called focaccia. Bread, however, never, because those were the times when I never made bread, and I always wondered… I wonder how the bread made with this bread dough turns out…
Okay, end of old memories. 😄 Same dough, I was saying.
Both made on the same day.
But this heart-shaped walnut one came to me like this, at the last minute. Initially, I had planned a simple plain focaccia, at most with rosemary, which was supposed to be the focaccia for my kids, those in the family who don’t eat artichokes.
Then when I cooked the artichoke focaccia and saw how beautiful it turned out (yes, I really liked it), I decided that… oh poor things! these kids! who can’t enjoy an equally beautiful focaccia all for themselves!!! Heaven forbid!!!
And so, once again, here is yet another variation to the menu, made right then and there in favor of these degenerate kids who eat (almost) no vegetables (what a struggle!!!!).
So know that: the ingredients for the dough are essentially the same as in the previous recipe, only they are halved since it’s for a single tray (heart measurement I don’t know, since I don’t know how to measure it, roughly corresponding to a 28 or 30 cm round tray, let’s not be too picky).
The heart shape, since that day was Valentine’s Day, had its very valid reason.
And even today it has its reason. Because today is my, our, anniversary.
And yes, oh yes. Thank you, thank you, you are too kind. 😄
Yes, it’s 24 years of marriage. And also 34 of ‘blessed the day I met you’.
And then… today is also Fat Thursday, while 24 years ago it was Fat Tuesday, and 34 years ago it was Thursday, although I couldn’t say if it was fat or not.
But certainly, it was a Thursday… one of those you don’t forget. 🙋♀️
So, in the end, the meaning of this heart-shaped pizza is all here.
And it’s all in a sentence said by my daughter when she was six-or maybe seven, a sentence I like to quote, and indeed I already quoted you here 😊 which is:
“The anniversary should be celebrated with the kids because the kids are very much involved in the marriage.” 😍
Happy heart-shaped pizza to everyone!!!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 14 Hours
- Preparation time: 8 Minutes
- Portions: 4 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 9.7 oz All-purpose flour
- 2.6 oz Liquid sourdough (licoli)
- 5 oz Water
- 3 tsps Extra virgin olive oil
- 5 Walnuts (or as preferred)
- 2.5 oz Cheese (fontal or masdam)
Tools
- Baking Pan heart-shaped
Preparation
In a bowl, pour the licoli, water, one teaspoon of oil, and the flour.
Knead until the dough becomes elastic. With the mixer, it takes just a few minutes; if kneading by hand, it takes at least 10 minutes.
If kneading by hand, after roughly mixing the ingredients in the bowl, I suggest transferring everything to the work surface and working it there with both hands. After about 10 minutes, you will know by touch that it’s ready.
Grease the bowl lightly with oil, place the dough in the bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap. Store in a sheltered place to rise for 2-3 hours (I specifically do 2 and a half hours), then transfer to the fridge. The resting time in the fridge can vary according to your needs from 10 to 24 hours.
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour.
Wet the surface of the dough with water and oil and spread it with hands.
Place the dough in a heart-shaped baking pan covered with parchment paper. (Or another pan of the preferred shape).
To better shape the heart, I reinforced the outline with a rim of dough (more or less like you do for pies).
Distribute over the dough the cheese cut into pieces and the chopped walnuts, then complete with one or two teaspoons of oil before baking.
Optionally let it rest for half an hour before baking, I usually do, this time not because lunchtime was imminent.
Bake in the oven at 428°F for 20 minutes. Optionally, in the last few minutes, cover with an aluminum foil, as the cheese became quite golden for me.
My kids devoured it 😄 the only slice I managed to photograph, to show you the thickness and inside of the dough, is this:
This is a simple dough for everyday, but it’s always the simple things that give me more satisfaction. Isn’t it the same for you? 😊
Salt-Free Tips
Since they were born, my children have always seen me cook without salt. The rule is that no salt should be used in baby food until at least the first year of age, preferably until the second year. In our house, this post-first-year salt introduction never happened (although it did in nursery meals), so… obviously, no added salt in this pizza. 😄 The salt present in the cheese is more than enough to flavor it. Let’s do prevention! Get our kids used to not overdoing it with salt, they’ll surely benefit as adults.
Enjoy!
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
– Gradually decrease the salt, the palate must get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
– Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
– Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
– Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
– Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
– Use my salt-free vegetable granules
– Prefer fresh foods.
– Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
– Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
– Sometimes breaking the rule is good. It improves the mood and helps to persevere.
If you don’t want or can’t give up salt:
You can still try my recipes salting according to your habits.
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