Homemade Naan Pizza

Before we get to the pizza, I ordered wine on Groupon yesterday and I wanted to share this referral link.  Not only will I get a discount if you order 6 bottles of wine for $39, but you will too!  I didn't get to choose what kind I wanted to order, but it's a mixed box of red and white.  I like white, Scott likes red, win-win. I'm trying to add to our collection and possibly evolve from Yellowtail.

In case you've missed the first installments of my Recipe Challenge (52 weeks, 52 new recipes), here's what I've done so far in 2015.

1. Baked Crab Dip
2. Mint Oreo Ice Cream Cake
3. 30 Minute Leek and Potato Soup
4. Company Chili
5. Cookie Dough Ice Cream
6. Scott's Salmon
7. Homemade Marinara Sauce


Recipe challenge, week eight.  

So, what can you do with that marinara I posted last week?

You can make naan pizza.

I credit my newest pizza obsession to Joey.  She mentioned that she and her husband like to make naan pizza as a quick dinner.  I bought some naan that weekend and made mini-pizzas with it.  It was really good.  Like, insanely good.  Much better than those flatbreads I usually go for.  However, store-bought naan is expensive.  Annoyingly expensive.  $4 for two pieces.

I could actually talk about naan all day.  Scott first made naan from scratch back in the winter of 2010.  He'd just returned from Afghanistan and went on and on about how amazing the local food was there.  He spent an entire Sunday working in the kitchen: grinding spices, mixing up a rice dish, and rolling naan.  I remember how good it was.  I also remember how long it took:  all day.

That being said, I decided to embark on making my own version of naan back in January.  I actually used the recipe from Food Network's website.  I didn't add any of the spices; just followed the basic recipe.

It's a remarkably hands-off process.  You mix everything together, let it sit half the day in a place where dough can rise, and then roll it out. It cooks in about 2 minutes in a cast iron skillet.

So, once you have your naan...preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Put 2-3 pieces on a baking sheet.  I use a thin (really cheap and half-destroyed) metal pan but you can use a pizza stone.  I let it warm and crisp in the oven for about 5 minutes.  Then I add sauce, pepperoni, pizza seasoning, and cheese.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is browned.  I use convection*, but you can bake for 10 minutes in a conventional oven and then just broil for a few minutes.

*I've found that, because of the altitude issue here, it's best to use convection for everything. Baked goods cook evenly and without any worry on my part.  I don't mean to sound like some kind of Ina Garten with "you need to have fresh milk, fresh cheese, fresh butter...and a convection oven".