Most of us didn’t grow up with kale.  Also, most of us didn’t grow up with yoga.  Not just a random statement - apparently the two are linked.  In an obituary for Pattabhi Jois, a famous yoga teacher, The Econimist claimed his influence could be found “from Byron Bay, Australia to Big Sur, California, and wherever else one might expect Priuses on the roads and organic kale on the tables.”

Well, last year in my p-patch in Seattle I succumbed to peer-pressure and planted an abundance of kale.  I still don’t know what Prius-driving limber people do with all that kale, but I figured out a few options for my family.  This was a favorite, maybe because we all did grow up with pizza.

The trio of ingredients play perfectly off of each other.  Sweet peppers, salty olives, bitter greens are rounded off with the acidity of the tomato sauce.  If you use my recipe for tomato sauce, with plenty of garlic, it will be your favorite pizza, even if aren’t the type that drives (or wishes for) a Prius, or practices yoga.  And if you are the type and buy kale at the farmer’s maket every so often just to fit in, I think you’ll really appreciate this recipe too.

One more thing- don’t forget how important it is to have a great crust.  I use Peter Reinhart’s “pizza dough I” from Crust and Crumb: master formulas for serious bread bakers.  But Heidi Swanson has reprinted Reinhart’s recipe for Napoletana Pizza Dough on 101 cookbooks, and I trust both Heidi’s judgement and Peter Reinhart’s recipes.    Because it takes time for dough to develop flavor, I wouldn’t trust any recipe that takes less than 6 hours to make.  For convenience, you might as well start the day before.

kale, roasted red pepper and olive pizza
2 1/2 lbs. pizza dough, approximately (”pizza dough I” reportedly makes 2 lbs. 6.5 oz.)
1 recipe perfect tomato sauce (you’ll have some left over)
2-3 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup good olives, pitted and chopped
1 bunch of kale, thick stems removed, leaves chopped
olive oil, for frying
1 lb. mozzarella, shredded

Preheat your oven to as high as it will go, and place a pizza stone on a middle rack.  Heat 1/2 inch or so of olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Fry the kale in batches until it is crispy on the edges and tender in the middle.  Set aside on a plate.  Roll out the pizza dough thinly into several pies.  In a thin layer, spread some of the tomato sauce, then add a little kale, the chopped peppers and olives.  Top with the cheese.  It shouldn’t cover the entire pizza, and don’t go overboard with the toppings or else your crust will end up soggy.  Bake one at a time until the crust is golden brown underneath and the cheese is melted and starting to brown as well.  The time will depend on the size of the pizzas.