by Rachel Priebe, Nutritional Sciences student, Sargent College

Every Wednesday Karen Jacobs EdD, OTR/L, CPE, FAOTA hosts the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen in Stuvi 2 Apt. 2302 from 8-11pm. She invites the BU community into her home to test new Sargent Choice recipes while we cook, drink tea, have play Apples to Apples.

Each week I go to the Test Kitchen, I am excited to learn a new kitchen skill.  This week was no exception, as we got to learn how to caramelize onions.  This was something I thought only professional chef’s knew how to do, but it is really the simplest thing in the world. The trick is to cover the onions while they cook at the beginning so they get nice and soft, and then uncover them so they develop that characteristic caramel-brown color.

Once we had our onions ready, it was easy as pizza to make the pie (or vice versa).  The secret that we discovered during the Test Kitchen was to pre-bake the crust for about five minutes.  This lets it crisp up a bit before we put the wet sauce on top, which lead to a better pizza at the end.  So after layering all the ingredients on the pre-baked crust, you just pop it in the oven!

While waiting for the pizza to bake, I had a chance to peruse Karen’s cookbook collection.  I don’t know about you, but cookbooks are basically my favorite picture books.  I have too many for my own good, a personal favorite being Vegetarian Everyday from the blog Green Kitchen Stories.  Seeing beautifully photographed food inspires me, and during the Test Kitchen it inspired me to try my hand at food photography.  Overall, this recipe was a delight to make and is easy to make in large batches if you are planning to feed a crowd.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza
Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced onion, separated into rings (about 1 large onion)
• 1 prepared whole wheat pizza dough
• White whole wheat flour for dusting work surface
• ½ cup pizza sauce
• ¼ cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves
• 2/3 cup (3 oz) crumbled goat cheese
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 450ºF.
2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick stilled over medium-high heat.  Add onion; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook for ~11 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.
3. Stretch the dough into about a 12 inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
4. Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet or pre-heated pizza stone, place in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until slightly crispy.
5. Combine the sauce and tomatoes.  Spread the sauce mixture over pre-baked pizza crust.  Top with onion and cheese.
6. Bake at 450º for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
7. Sprinkle with basil. Cut into 6 wedges.

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