Dinner From Scraps: Pizza Bread

Too often I let food go to waste by completely neglecting it while it sits lonely in the crisper or the cheese compartment. Sometimes it's right in front of my face and I still don't see it. I have what I refer to as selective senses. I don't see things even if it's staring at me so it does not occur to my absent mind that I should put it to use. Like the bundle of basil, or the container of ricotta, parsley, the list goes on. And I always feel so guilty!

So to clean up my act (at least for today) I looked through my fridge and made dinner from few scraps I had here and there. I made Pizza Bread to utilize a lump of low-moisture mozzarella and a few fillets of anchovy I had leftover from C's bday lunch, whole wheat bread I've been keeping in the freezer, and a can of diced tomatoes.

I sweated a quarter of an onion with 2 cloves of garlic. Then added the can of diced tomatoes and reduced it til it got jammy. Seasonings include black pepper, salt and TJ pasta seasoning. I laid out 4 whole wheat toasts on a baking sheet and sprinkled a very thin layer on the mozzarella I grated so the bread wouldn't get too soggy from the tomato sauce. I spooned a bit of sauce onto each toast and then topped it with the rest of the cheese. Sprinkled red pepper flakes, chopped anchovy fillets, herbs de provence and thinly sliced red onion. Popped it in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes then under broiler for 1 minutes.



It turned out pretty good except I wish the bread base was crisper (only the edges were). A grill or griddle after the pizza bread exited the oven would have been useful but I threw my pieces into a dry pan for few minutes and it was much improved.



And to pair with this classy dinner I drank Tres Ojos Old Vines Garnacha 2003, Calatayud. I think I got this delicious wine for about $9.
"Made from 100% Old Vine Garnacha (40-50 year old vines). The wine ferments for 7 days at 30ºC, followed by 14 days maceration on the skins. Aged 12 months in large stainless steel vats. Cold stabilized and lightly filtered before bottling. The wine is fruity, juicy, spicy and delicious. Even more important, it is a terrific value."
I like values. Yay.

So not bad for scraps. I feel better knowing I made a simple and delicious dinner out of those humble ingredients rather than throw them away at the end of the week.