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Pizza with Polenta Crust

A pizza with a polenta crust topped with sautéed vegetables, mozzarella, tomato, and parmesan.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 19 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Pizza with Polenta Crust

Oven375°F, then 350°F

Ingredients

Directions

Make the crust

  1. Spray a pie pan with nonstick spray.

  2. Preheat oven to 375°F.

  3. Place cornmeal in a small bowl and add cold water, stirring until well mixed.

  4. Stir cornmeal mixture into a saucepan with boiling water.

  5. Cook, stirring over low heat, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

  6. Remove from heat and stir in salt and parmesan.

  7. Spread cornmeal mixture to form a crust in the greased pan using wet hands or a spatula, evenly across the bottom and up the sides.

  8. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

  9. Remove from oven and lower oven temperature to 350°F.

Make the topping

  1. In a sauté pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.

  2. Sauté garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender.

  3. Remove from heat and stir in black olives, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red peppercorns.

  4. Spread vegetables onto crust.

  5. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly on top.

  6. Arrange tomato slices over cheese and sprinkle generously with parmesan.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

453Calories
23 gProtein
29 gFat
30 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Yellow Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,063 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Garlic + basiltop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,805 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Pepper + basiltop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Yellow cornmeal
Forms the thick, sturdy base of the crust as it sets with cooking and baking.
Mozzarella
Melts into a stretchy layer that binds the toppings and browns on top.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory flavor and helps the crust and top brown.
Mushrooms
Release moisture when sautéed, adding savory depth and tender texture.
Black olives
Add salty, briny flavor and a chewy texture to the topping.

The step that matters

Cooking the cornmeal mixture until thickened. Cornmeal must be stirred over low heat until thick so starch gelatinizes and the mixture holds its shape as a crust. If it is undercooked, the crust may be loose and crumbly after baking.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parmesan cheese, olive, garlic, onion, pepper, mushroom, basil):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Rosemaryfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against parmesan cheese, olive, garlic, onion, pepper, mushroom, basil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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