Pizza #3: A taste of Tuscany

Pizza #3: Two-bean pizza with braised tomatoes and asiago cheese

I was very lucky when I went to culinary school.  Not only did I have great instructors, I had an amazing class.

Since classes ended on Jan 3^rd, we’ve gotten together as a class twice to celebrate classmates “home” cooking.  Over the past two months, I have been privileged enough to learn Korean cooking from Sunny, our wonderful Korean friend and classmate and most recently, how to cook Tuscan food from our favorite Florentine, Simone.

Coniglio ripieno (stuffed rabbit), Fagiolini in umido (braised green beans),  and Fagioli all'uccelletto (white beans with tomato sauce.

Yesterday was one of these culinary feasts and we spent the day cooking like Italians, sipping on Tuscan wines and nibbling on the amazing menu Simone planned.  When we left, all of us were stuffed with any/all of the following: Crostini di fegatini (chicken liver mousse), Coccoli (fried dough), Polenta fritta con i funghi (fried polenta with mushroom), Cecina (chickpea flatbread), Crespelle alla fiorentina (crepes with spinach), Risotto ai carciofi (artichoke risotto), Coniglio ripieno (stuffed rabbit), Fagiolini in umido (braised green beans), Fagioli all'uccelletto (white beans with tomato sauce), Salame dolce (sweet salame), Frittelle di riso (rice fritters), and Biscotti di Prato (almond Biscotti). 


As I was packing up and dividing leftovers, I got an idea for todays pizza.  I hate eating the same thing twice in a row, so this was a great way to change it up a little bit.

  

I took some of the sides for the rabbit home, so thus a 2-bean pizza.  The green beans were braised in tomatoes, garlic and thyme, so I reserved the braising liquid/crushed tomatoes that were left and cooked it down until it was more of a ‘pizza sauce’ consistency.  A few rough chops to the green beans, a reheat of the white beans (to finally cook them through), some crushed red pepper for good measure and I was ready to go.  

I was also lucky enough to take home some lovely asiago cheese (I know, not Tuscan) as well, which was the formaggio of choice today.

With a drizzle of nice Tuscan olive oil and some nice freshly grated Parmesan , this pizza was another trans-atlantic trip for my taste buds.

 These two bean recipes were very simple and would pair well with your choice of protien - prepared in a simple, Tuscan manner of course.  Give them a google and start your own culinary adventure.

So here is to great new friends and a world of cooking lessons at our fingertips. 

Salute!