I’m going to make this quick so we can all get on with our day. As far as a busy weeknight meal goes, it doesn’t get a lot quicker, more versatile, or satisfying than a mini naan pizza custom made for each family member.
This is not anywhere close to an original idea, just a reminder and a suggestion to make life easy. Substitute my toppings with whatever you have on hand in the pantry and the fridge.
Mini Naan Pizzas
6 – 8 pieces of mini naan bread (depending on how many family members are eating and how hungry they are)
green olives
roasted red peppers
artichoke hearts
fresh mozzarella cheese
grated parmesan cheese
*Garlic Oil
1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon each, basil, oregano, and parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper and/or a few red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
*You will have extra garlic oil. Keep it in a jar on the counter and use it up over the following week on more pizzas, garlic bread, or as a salad dressing or saute oil.
Gather your pantry ingredients and allow them to drain on a towel or paper towels so the water they are packed in doesn’t make the pizzas soggy.
Make the garlic oil by grating the garlic into a small bowl and adding the spices. Whisk in the oil.
Get your cheeses ready. The fresh mozzarella might need to drain a little. I like to open it and transfer it to another container. If you have parmesan cheese already grated, by all means, use that or grate some now.
Place naan bread on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and brush with the garlic oil. If you don’t have a pastry brush, the back of a spoon works well.
Top with your assortment of toppings; be careful not to pile too many on or the naan bread won’t get nicely crisp.
Turn your oven on to the broil setting and place the cookie sheet with the pizzas on a top rack. (If you are only making a few, you could also use a toaster oven for convenience). Broil for about 8 minutes, depending on your oven, check them at 6 minutes; they might need as many as 10 minutes.
Transfer immediately from the oven to a large cutting board. Slice into 3 – 4 pieces, top with a little more parmesan and red pepper flake if you like, and serve.
My sister noticed in one of the last posts that I left out the quote at the end. I was glad she did, it felt incomplete to me as well. I think you’ll like this one, Sissy. I searched “world gone mad” because “everyone’s lost their damn minds” wasn’t fruitful. The last part is hopeful to me, so I underlined it.
“Forget it all, I told myself, escape into your mind and your work, into the place where you are only your living, breathing self, not a citizen of any state, not a stake in that infernal game, the place where only what reason you have can still work to some reasonable effect in a world gone mad.”
― Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday