Pizza-Ghetti

Pizza-Ghetti is a classic Quebec diner food and also a major comfort food! It's a big preparation because I do everything except the pasta by hand. The whole process takes about an hour at the beginning of the day for the sauce, which is slow-cooked, then another 3 1/2 hours (including 2 hours of down time during pizza dough rising) for the pizza, pasta and plating.

This recipe makes enough for 4 servings or 2 servings with leftovers!

The pizza dough isn't my usual thin crust one. I wanted it to be as authentic as possible and I found the recipe online. The pizza dough recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas, I only need one for this dish, so the other half of the dough goes into the freezer for the next time.

Pizza-Ghetti

Servings: 4

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There are four steps:

1. Make your spaghetti sauce - my recipe below slow cooks for 5 hours
2. Make your diner-style pizza
3. Cook your pasta while the pizza is cooking
4. Put it all together!

For the spaghetti sauce:

Rain's Tomato Sauce For Pasta

For the Pizza:

Homemade Pizza Crust : This is a great recipe, and the author has photos to show the step by step instructions on her website, but I've copied her recipe here and made a few changes to suit our needs. 

Ingredients

2 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 standard packet)
1 and 1/3 cups warm water (105-115F degrees)
3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
flour, for dusting

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast is foamy and dissolved. Add flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar. Mix with a spatula for 1 minute. 

2. Turn dough out on your surface and knead for 7 minutes. If your dough is too wet, add up to 1/4 cup more flour. After kneading, your dough should be smooth and elastic. Poke it lightly with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading. 

3. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large mixing bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn it over to coat all sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1 to 2 hours until dough doubles in size. 

4. Punch the dough down to release the air. 

5. Divide the dough into two. Roll each half into a ball and let rest in two separate bowls lightly covered for 15 minutes. You may freeze one of the dough balls at this point to use at a later time. (She has defrosting instructions on that link above)

6. Preheat oven to 475 F. Allow to heat for at least 30 full minutes. Your oven needs to be very, very hot. (Note for me: start pasta now)

7. After the rest time, flatten and stretch your ball of dough into a 12-inch round circle on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour pizza peel and place dough on top or use a non-stick pizza pan.

8. Lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. Simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest for 15 minutes before topping.

9. Prepare your favorite toppings: Sauce, Mozzarella, mushrooms, green olives, cooked onion slices, green peppers, tomatoes....whatever you like in a classic pizza!

10. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 12-15 minutes. For the last minute, broil to brown the cheese.

**When the pasta is ready, put it on your plate and top with spaghetti sauce and Parmesan. Cut the pizza in 4 and serve along side the pasta. Red wine goes very well with this, especially if you have a diner-style glass! :)