Frugal Foodie Friday - Whole-Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Bitter Greens

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From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I think those of you who enjoy bitter greens will really like this pizza. I decided to feature it today because I was in the mood for something different and I thought the pie would be delicious. Save for pine nuts, the ingredients used to make it are not terribly expensive and they are readily available at this time of year. Those who are on limited budgets will have to make all the elements of this pie from scratch, but I think you'll find that everything is doable and the steps required to make the pie are not terribly time consuming. Pine nuts are ridiculously expensive right now, so feel free to replace them with slivered almonds or sunflower seed kernels. I found the recipe for the pie in Food and Wine magazine and I didn't vary much from the version they featured. The only change I made was to make one large pie rather than the three smaller ones they recommended. I really liked this pie, but I hasten to add that the Silver Fox and I enjoy bitter greens. If you are not fond of them, it's probably best to stick with your standard pizza recipe. Here is how the pie is made.

Whole-Wheat Pizza with Onions and Bitter Greens...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients:
Dough
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water, divided use
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling and rubbing
Toppings
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
10 thyme sprigs
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 head of radicchio (6 ounces), thinly sliced
2 cups thinly sliced kale leaves (3 ounces)
1 tablespoon thinly sliced sage leaves
5 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Directions:
1) To make the dough: In bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of water, whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, salt and olive oiland beat at medium speed until a soft, supple dough forms, about 8 minutes. Roll dough into a ball, rub it with olive oil and return it to a bowl. Cover dough and let stand until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
2) Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place a pizza stone on bottom rack of oven, allowing at least 30 minutes for it to preheat. Punch down dough and divide it into 3 pieces; form them into 3 balls and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.
3) Meanwhile prepare toppings: Heat canola oilin a large skillet. Add onions and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring once or twice, until onions soften, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until onions are very soft and golden, about 15 minutes longer; add water as needed to keep onions from scorching. Discard the thyme.
    Spread pine nuts in a pie plate and toast in oven until golden, 2 minutes.
    In a large bowl, combine garlic and olive oil. Add radicchio, kale and sage, season lightly with salt and pepper and toss.
4) Turn broiler on. Roll or stretch one ball of dough to a 10-inch round and transfer it to a floured pizza peel. Mound one-third of the greens on top, followed by one-third each of the onions, pine nuts and cheese. Carefully slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake until the crust is browned and the toppings are sizzling, 8 to 10 minutes. Cut pizza into wedges and serve right away. Repeat to make the remaining 2 pizzas.

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