Pizza Today - August 2016 - 37

$45.59 a case with six cans in it, and a
single can is $7.60 and produces four
pounds of drained pineapple, it also
gives you at least 4½ cups of juice.
Let's do the math: $7.60 divided by
64 ounces is 12 cents an ounce.
If you are putting four ounces on a
single pizza, that is 48 cents a topping.
The spread: Depending upon the
size of the pineapple you are putting
on a pizza, you may be doing yourself a
disservice without knowing it. "Yeah, I
like their Hawaiian pizza but they are
really skimpy on the pineapple." This
may be what your customers are saying
if you are using too big a pineapple
chunk on your pizzas. You may also get
"I cannot even taste the pineapple on
this pie..." if you are using too small a
tidbit on a pie. The decision is yours.
Quality and price: To taste a
wonderful, yellow, sweet pineapple on
a pizza is a great thing to offer your
customers. Going to the bottom line
just for cost is a double edged sword
and can lead to inferior pizzas. If you
want to see what this leads to, just go
to your local corporate pizza store and
ask yourself, is this where I want to go?
Topping combinations: These
items all pair very well with pineapple:
coconut; almond; almond paste; cilantro; cinnamon; mint; mangos; brown
sugar; balsamic glaze; curry; lime;
ginger; black beans; red onion; kimchi;
cashews; goat and bleu cheeses; aged
provolone; chicken; honey; watercress; pistachios; ham; bacon; shrimp;
rosemary; spinach and even cayenne
pepper.

Sweet and Sour Stuffed
Poblanos and Jalepeños

These semi-spicy stuffed peppers are sour
and sweet and are perfect for serving on
pizzas during the late summer glut of peppers
you may have in your community or even
as a stand-alone appetizer to serve in your
restaurant.
2 cups pizzeria pineapple tidbits
¾ cups chopped feta cheese
¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
4 ounces pizzeria ham diced fine
2 ounces diced bacon
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl
and mash for stuffing.
Cut the top of six to eight poblano peppers (or up to 15 large jalepeños) and take
out the seeds using a small knife. You may
keep the top of each pepper for a better
presentation if you wish.
Stuff the filling in each pepper and place
on parchment paper or aluminum foil on
a tray.
Place in an oven at 450 F for 15 to 20
minutes until the pepper is cooked and the
filling is melted.
(Optional) Freeze each stuffed pepper
until needed, then place frozen pepper in a
450 F oven for 8 to 10 minutes to heat up.
Top with mozzarella and blast under a
broiler until melted, transfer to a plate and
top with chopped cilantro, avocado, more
pineapple, onion and cooked bacon bits
and serve.

Pineapple Upside-Down
Pizza
This pizza is one of my favorites and is surprisingly easy to make. The slices of pineapple
are more expensive than tidbits; But without
any meats, this pizza can easily be made for
a food cost of less than 30 percent. Many
modifications can also be made with an additional toss of pine nuts or walnuts for a nice
textural foil.
1 19-ounce proprietary pizza dough
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil for
pan (or spray olive oil)
9 slices pineapple
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 to 4 ounces fresh mozzarella from a
log
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeño peppers
from make line
3 tablespoons local maple syrup

Prepare a 14-inch pizza pan by coating
the bottom and sides with the extra virgin
olive oil.
Dry the slices of pineapple and press
down one side into the grated Parmesan for
the cheese to stick to the side. This will be
the "glue" to stick to the cooking dough in
the oven.
Place the slices cheese side up in the pan,
six around the edges and ¼ inch from the
edge of the pan and 3 slices in the middle.
Pull the dough ball out into a 14-inch
round and place gently atop the pineapple
slices that are in the pan.
Press the dough down and adjust the
crust edge to meet at the corner of the pan.
(If you let the crust ride up the pan, it will
look strange when you turn the pan over.)
Prick the dough with a fork or a sharp
edge to eliminate bubbles when cooking.
Place the pan in a 500 F deck oven for
5 to 8 minutes until the dough just sets.
(The more you cook this pizza now, the less
you can cook it on the second run.)
Pull the pie out of the oven and let it sit
for approximately 5 minutes for the pan to
cool off.
In one fast motion, turn the pan over on
to a large pizza peel that has been lightly
dusted with corn meal or semolina. Leave
the pan upside down for a few seconds and
pound on the pan bottom to dislodge any
pineapple rounds still stuck on the pan.
Gently lift the pan up with a spatula and
peek under the pan to see if any slices are
still stuck. If so, put the pan back down and
bang again. If still stuck, you may take the
spatula and dislodge the slice and put back
into the place where it came from.
Now that you have the pie right side up,
place the excess Parmesan around the slices
and in the middle of each slice. Then place
the mozzarella in small chunks around the
pie followed by the jalapeño.
Cook in a deck oven at 475 F or place
halfway into a conveyor oven until the
cheese melts, the crust is golden and the
slices of pineapple are semi caramelized.
Pull from oven and douse with maple
syrup. Serve hot. n
JOHN GUTEKANST owns Avalanche Pizza
in Athens, Ohio and has a pizza blog called
Pizza Goon. He is an award-winning
pizzaiolo, baker, teacher, speaker and
author.

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Pizza Today - August 2016

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