London: Mediterranean Pizza on Naan Bread

Here in England, there are a LOT of options for prepared foods and meals for people who don’t feel like cooking. Now when I think of prepared foods back in the States the options are limited to little more than TV dinners, Stauffers, and Lean Cuisines. It is really hard to find something convenient and quality. But not here. Last week I had Risotto with Mushrooms and chestnuts, Asian crispy prawns with Sweet chili sauce and a delicious almond raspberry tart. (more tea-time appropriate, oops.)

This weekend when I was too tired/lazy to cook I walked over to Marks & Spencer (Think Wegman’s with an attached clothing store) and picked up Butternut Squash lasagna, brussel sprouts in a cheese sauce with chestnuts and bacon bits (Yes I nibbled at the bits, no judging. You cannot live in this city without nibbling on bacon every once in awhile.) And…chocolate Soufflés that you just pop in the oven and enjoy. These were seriously restaurant quality and they came in glass ramekins! Now I have two glass ramekins, double bonus!

Unfortunately this easy access to pre-made meals makes me lazy and want to not cook…as much.

After a major grocery shopping trip to the beautiful Whole Foods down the road on Kensington High Street I have made a pledge to cook. Except I did get suckered into the £20 for 2 Valentine’s meal (Starter, Main, Side, Dessert, Box of Chocolates, wine.) Hey, not bad. That will be tomorrow’s menu that you will see on Wednesday of course.

This Whole Foods is amazing. Three floors and practically its own block of beautifulness. Of course I kept it conservative in my buys but got some much needed items including Earl Gray tea, raw honey, raw peanut butter, and quinoa!

Yay quinoa!

And Apple Rhubarb Apple Juice.

And Pink Lady apples and Terra chips were on sale. And my veggies for the week. (noticed the raw honey and peanut butter along with my cherry almond tart.) yum yum.

I resisted the amazingly beautiful make-your-own-muesil bar, grind your own peanut butter, and roast your own coffee. Barely.

May I live here?

A couple things I’ve learned so far about foodie London:

·         They love chestnuts, rhubarb, curry, bacon, eggs, and toast.

·         Aubergines are eggplants

·         Courgettes are zucchini

·         Sultanas are raisins

·         And Sticky Toffee pudding is delicious.

And with that on Thursday after seeing Daniel Radcliffe at the Apple Store, I made this delicious Mediterranean Pizza on Naan bread. Yummm….

I made it all on one pan. First the Courgettes, onions, and mushrooms. Then on top of the naan bread put the rest and bake.

Along with my pledge to Jenn at Peas and Crayons to eat more veggies, this was a veggie-tastic pizza. And soooo good. I don’t have much to stay about this pizza other than it was hearty and delicious and soooo flavorful!! It is so simple you have no excuse not to make this.

Mediterranean Pizza on Naan bread: 2 pizzas

Ingredients:

Two pieces of plain naan bread

¼ cup of gruyere or Swiss cheese

¼ cup of parmesan cheese

1 zuchinni (courgettes), sliced and cut in half

½ onion chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

6 mushrooms, sliced

10-15 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 eggs (optional)

Vegetable oil

Olive oil

1 sprig of Rosemary (if you have it), chopped

Garlic salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl toss cut zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and 1/3 of chopped rosemary with drizzle of vegetable oil and garlic salt.

Spread vegetables evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake in oven until soft and hardly brown.

Meanwhile mix 1/8 cup of olive oil with garlic salt and 1/3 chopped rosemary in a small bowl.

Take out of oven and side vegetable aside in bowl.

Place naan bread on baking sheet and spread with oil mixture. Spread cooked vegetable mixture evenly on naan. Top evenly with halved tomatoes. Top with cheese and sprinkle with remaining rosemary.

Place pizzas in the oven for about 5 minutes. After five minutes, take out and carefully crack a raw egg on top of each pizza. Place back in oven for five-ten minutes or until bread is crispy, cheese is bubbly and egg appears cooked. (Yoke might cooked, that’s better!)

Transfer cooked pizzas to plates and cut into slices. Allow egg yolk to go over pizza. Very fancy.

Note: the egg makes the pizza great but this is optional if you don’t like eggs.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner