Technicolor Pizza!

Pizzette "Arcobalena"

"Rainbow" Pizza, with Colored Chard, Fresh & Salted Ricotta, Ajvar & Tomato Paste

Suppertime... snacktime... partytime... these are the kinds of things I like to put together practically ANY time! 

Easy, quick and delicious and especially so if you use interesting fresh ingredients on top instead of the same old cheese and salami - and indeed, using a store-bought pizza dough on a roll! And why not? 

This is just a pizza, a snack- it is not high cuisine... but it is still fun to eat and just as delicious as YOU, or WE, make it!

This is a purely vegetarian affair... and basically, because with such a wonderful ingredient as this juicy and colorful Swiss chard, you really don't want to spoil the fact... you just want to enhance it!

And so enhance it I did! Just read on and I will tell you and show you how!

So- this is what I used this evening: a couple of stalks each of my beautiful multi-colored charred yellow and white- meaning around 6 stalks and leaves worth in all. Of course regular green and white chard is fine to use too! For 3 small pizzas, I needed 3 teaspoons of Ajvar, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 2-3 tablespoons of fresh ricotta, salt, pepper, nutmeg, oregano, olive oil and a little salted ricotta to grate on top.

Obviously, this is not the kind of thing where you need to be accurate with a recipe, with weights or quantities- you just do this "by eye" and put it together so that it feels right for you... it's pizza! It's supposed to be fun and is not supposed to be stressful or complicated!

Begin by washing the chard well and cutting the leaves away from the stalks, Cut the stalks into small, bite-sized pieces and fry them in a little olive oil for 3-4 minutes, until they are nicely glazed, beginning to slightly turn translucent and are looking around half-way cooked. 

Add a splash of water and keep stirring until it has all practically evaporated away and then you will be ready to add the greens.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper then add the leaves on top and put on the lid. let the leaves wilt down for 3-4 minutes and then remove the lid and stir-fry them for 3-4 minutes longer.

Once the stalks are nicely translucent and juicy looking and the leaves soft and vibrant green, turn off the heat, set the chard into a cold plate and let it cool and in the meantime turn on your oven to the highest setting.

Now, quickly prepare your topping by combining the ricotta cheese, tomato paste, a teaspoon of dried oregano, a pinch of salt, plenty of pepper and a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Stir this together well and you are ready to go... all you have to do now is to cut your pizza dough to the desired shape and size.

First of all, add a teaspoon of Ajvar to each "pizzetta" and spread it around evenly.

Next, add about a tablespoon of the flavored ricotta cheese mixture.

In the meantime, the chard will be nice and cool and ready to add on top- and then last but not least, grate with a little salted ricotta for that finishing touch.

Drizzle ever so lightly with olive oil and then bake at the highest setting your oven can muster, for 20 minutes or as long as it takes for it to become gloriously crispy and golden brown!