By Andrea Flaherty and Tommy DeLuca, Photos by Nichole Janowsky, Westford Eagle
It is back-to-school week and time for families to transition into the hectic schedule of school and activities. When it comes to meals, it may mean relying on food from boxes and bags and easily prepared on the fly for many families. But eating local, freshly prepared meals may be easier than you think and I set out to prove it by participating in the Westford Farmers Market’s Local Dinner Challenge.
In celebration of Massachusetts Farmers’ Market Week, I decided to call upon my friend and neighbor, 10 year-old Tommy DeLuca, to help me take on the Local Dinner Challenge. The challenge called to prepare a dinner made from mostly locally grown ingredients. I looked upon the exercise as a way for families to get beyond chicken fingers and pasta and show children how easy it can be to make yummy, simple and healthy food with local ingredients.
DeLuca was an easy choice for a partner knowing his personal interest in cooking and the Westford Farmers Market, where he said, “It’s great to see all the fresh foods and all the people shopping.” DeLuca started cooking around age seven, helping his mom, Kelly, in the kitchen and also taking cooking classes at Roudenbush Community Center.
Our first decision of recipe was an easy one. With 94 percent of the population eating pizza and when asked, most kids between the ages of 3-11 will list pizza as their favorite food, according to YourGuideToPizza.com, pizza was the perfect choice. Now it was time to go shopping.
Tommy and I developed a shopping list and headed to the Westford Farmers Market. It was a great opportunity for Tommy and me to browse the market, discuss what vegetable toppings to purchase, interact with the vendors, and make collaborative ingredient decisions.
DeLuca and I had mapped out a strategy to buy from as many vendors as possible that day.
We purchased the mozzarella cheese from Fior D’Italia; garlic, peppers, cherry tomatoes and eggplant from Springdell Farm; basil from Flats Mentor Farm; and corn, broccoli, squash and zucchini from Dragonfly Farms.
“It was fun buying all the fresh produce and knowing it was going to be our dinner,” said DeLuca. “There was a lot to choose from at the market. It’s amazing most of the food is grown locally.” He added, “I think it was pretty easy to get most everything you need all in one place.”
Next, we headed to the kitchen to prepare our pizza. Follow our preparation process in the photo essay accompanying this article.
We enjoyed the pizza with an impromptu dinner party that underscored the importance of eating with the family and friends and the benefits of family meal planning, savoring each bite of the farm fresh vegetables. The challenge proved why family dinners are important and should be something we all strive to make part of our regular routines.
PHOTO GALLERY
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Tommy and I checked out the baskets of corn on the cob at the Westford Farmers Market. We husked the corn, grilled it, and then sliced it off the cob and added the kernels to our pizza. We seasoned it with butter, salt and a little pepper to bring out the corn’s natural sweetness. |
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After shopping for only a half an hour, we bought vegetable pizza ingredients from Fior D’Italia, Springdell Farm, Flats Mentor Farm, and Dragonfly Farms. Almost any grilled vegetable works beautifully on pizza. |
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In lieu of pizza sauce, we opted for sliced cherry tomatoes charred on the grill. A different approach to pizza, the cherry tomatoes and fresh basil made bright counterpoints to the other ingredients. |
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We grilled our vegetables on a grill pan. A lot of vegetables do well on the grill, but some that really stand out are asparagus, corn, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and squash. We marinated our veggies first to prevent sticking and also cut larger ones (like eggplants, squash, and onions) into smaller pieces. We kept a close eye on them to prevent overcooking. |
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DeLuca made the homemade pizza dough ahead of time, with a quick and simple recipe. We then chopped and diced all the vegetables while watching the pizza dough cook on the grill. With the advice of a local foodie and our official photographer, Nichole Janowsky, we grilled the dough so that the dough stayed moist inside and crisp on the bottom. |
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We grilled the vegetables individually and sliced the mozzarella. While the mozzarella melted and became bubbly on the pizza dough, we slowly added the vegetable toppings that gained a distinct smoky taste. |
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We made four vegetable pizzas with a wonderful “outdoor” flavor. Without even heating up the oven, a large group of us enjoyed a delicious meal, locally sourced, that was nutritious and healthy. |
RECIPE – Simple Pizza Dough (courtesy of Amy Dempster)
Shopping List
1 cup warm water
1 package dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
Make It
- Heat the water to between 100 and 110 degrees.
- Add the yeast. Stir well.
- Measure and add the sugar, salt, and oil. Stir.
- Slowly add the flour (1/2 cup at a time) to the mixture stirring as you add. Continue adding flour until it is not sticking in clumps to the bowl or your hands.
- On a floured surface, gently knead the dough for 2-3. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Divide into 2 balls.
RECIPE – Grilled Veggie Pizza
Shopping List
- 1 prepared pizza dough (see recipe above), halved into 2 balls
- 4 cups grilled local vegetables (eggplant, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, summer squash, etc.)
- Flour (for sprinkling)
- Olive oil (for sprinkling)
- 1 ball Fior D’Italia mozzarella cheese, cut into rounds
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Make It
- Light a charcoal grill or turn a gas grill to medium-high heat.
- Marinate or lightly oil the vegetables. Grill your vegetables to desired firmness. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured counter, flatten one of the dough balls with your fingers to about 1-inch thickness. Sprinkle with a little flour and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to an 11-inch oval of even thickness. Lightly flour a large baking sheet and place the dough on the sheet. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
- Set the vegetables, olive oil, cheese, basil, and the baking sheet with the dough ovals near the grill. Rub olive oil on the grill grates using a paper towel.
- Place the dough on the grill. If there’s not enough room to grill both pizzas, cook them one at a time. Cook without moving for 2 minutes or until the dough bubbles and starts to firm. With tongs, rotate the dough to brown the bottom all over and cook 3 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer the ovals to the empty baking sheet, grilled sides up. Turn grill down to low. Brush the grilled sides lightly with olive oil. Spread vegetables and mozzarella evenly over the dough rounds.
- Place pizza back on grill. Cover the grill and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, rotating the rounds occasionally until cheese is melted and veggies are heated. Slide the pizzas onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and sprinkle with fresh basil.
