Everyone knows vampires hate garlic, but there’s also this other little piece of mythology that I feel like I’ve heard a couple of times and keep forgetting, which is that if you scatter seeds in front of a vampire’s grave he will be compelled to count them before returning. The Sesame Street Count is based on this myth – ah, ah, ah!
For this reason, I made a super garlicky white pizza, but I also threw nigella seeds in the dough (if the garlic doesn’t keep vampires away from my pizza, they’ll at least have to count for awhile before they get a slice).
Great for date night (um, if your typical date night is making food and watching movies on the couch after the kids go to bed – woo!), just make sure you both eat some!!
Vampire Slayer Pizza
For the dough
Slightly adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 packet (.32 oz) rapid rise yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
- 1 tbsp nigella seeds (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
In a small bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Wait for ten minutes until is foamy (if it’s not foamy, yeast dead, use new yeast).
Meanwhile, combine 2 cups of the flour, salt, garlic powder, nigella seeds and olive oil. Add the water and mix until it forms a very sticky dough – dump out onto a well-floured board (or well-floured counter in my case) and knead, adding flour little by little until it comes together, and afterwards a sprinkle here and there if it gets too sticky to handle. Add just enough to keep from going crazy, otherwise the dough will be heavy and dense. Knead for 10 minutes, then roll into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave it somewhere like the microwave for an hour.
For the pizza
- 2 heads garlic, outer paper removed and the top 1/4 inch cut off
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 8 oz burrata (2 4 oz balls) or 4 oz each mozzarella and ricotta
- parsley and red pepper flakes for garnish
While dough is rising, heat oven to 375° Drizzle each head of garlic with about a teaspoon of olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until very soft and golden.
At this point, retrieve the dough and knead again for a couple minutes and spread onto prepared baking sheet(s) or stone(s) – you can use one large square baking sheet or two smaller circle ones. Let sit 10 minutes or so while you prepare the rest.
Heat oven to 500°
Squeeze garlic cloves from their paper, leaving some mashed and some still with some shape. Strew around the dough. Tear burrata into small pieces (or tear mozzarella and use spoonfuls of ricotta) and strew evenly around dough.
Bake for 12-15 minutes (mine usually takes around 13) until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Let cool and serve, sprinkled with parsley and red pepper flakes.