By Carol Berg Sloan, RD
Nutritionist
Just returned from a trip to New York and, believe it or not, it was the first time I actually had New York-style pizza!
I received several recommendations and ended up at Patsy’s Pizzeria on 23rd in Chelsea. I had no expectations, but was surprised when the pizza arrived with a very thin crust, a minimum of tasty sauce, fresh mozzarella and a generous amounts of fresh basil leaves.
Pizza can be a vehicle for lots of calories and fat, but this New York-style with the thin crust and minimal mozzarella cheese was definitely lighter fare.
I finally found a pizza dough recipe I like, but the crust was not the same until I baked it on the pizza stone. Delicious.
Toppings can vary, but I used fresh mozzarella sliced thinly over my sister-in-law’s tomato sauce recipe (sorry, it’s a secret) and lots of fresh basil.
In calculating the calories, I figure the whole pizza to be around 1600 calories, which is less that the thin-crust cheese pizzas at two major chains:
• Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Thin Crust offers 320 calories and 12 grams of fat per slice
• Dominos Thin Crust Cheese provides 230 calories and 11 grams of fat per slice
So, don’t shy away from pizza. Make your own and serve it with a large salad. It can be a mighty fine meal, packed with nutrition too!
No-Knead Pizza Dough
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Co.
Makes four 12-inch pizza crusts
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1â„4 teaspoon instant yeast
11â„2 teaspoons salt
11â„2 cups water
1. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast and salt. Add the water and stir until blended (the dough will be very sticky). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 12 to 24 hours in a warm spot, about 70°.
2. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and lightly sprinkle the top with flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Generously sprinkle a clean cotton towel with flour and cover the dough balls with it. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
4. Stretch or toss the dough into the desired shape, cover with toppings and bake on top of a very hot pizza stone.
