More Apples and Kale

Encouraged by the success of our previous forays with apples and kale, we decided to try another spin on it the other night.  We were in the mood for pizza, had some kale and brie cheese to use up, and didn't have regular pizza sauce.  But we did have applesauce!  So, how about a brie and kale pizza with applesauce...sauce?  Katie made a nice crust and pre-baked it for about 10 minutes while I got the other stuff ready.

Kale, applesauce, and brie cheese.  The kale started out at about 4 cups and cooked down to about 2 in the microwave.  The brie came out of the fridge and grated up nice.  You can eat the white part on the outside!

When Katie said it was OK, we put the applesauce on the crust like it was pizza sauce, cheese on top of that, and kale on top of that.  The grated brie sticks together if you don't put it back in the fridge.  We didn't run out of cheese and kale here, we just wanted to show the nice layering effect (and approximation of the Italian flag)!

Season to taste with dried basil, black pepper, garlic powder, and ginger.  Bake for 15 min. at 400 °F.  Mmmmm.

We would rate this as doagainable.  Here's the recipe:

Crust:
1.5 c whole wheat flour
1.5 c bread flour
1 t salt
1 T sugar
1 T oil
1.5 t yeast
1 c warm (95 °F) water
2 t Italian herb seasoning

Mix water, yeast and sugar, let stand 5 minutes.  Add oil, flour, salt, and herbs.  Mix and knead for 10 minutes.  Let rise for 1 hour if you have time.  Otherwise, it will still work.  Roll out onto your preferred pizza-baking vessel, greased if necessary.  Bake for 10 minutes at 400 °F.  (When Katie's not around, the pre-bake is liable to get skipped).  Meanwhile, gather:

Toppings:
1 wheel (8 oz) Brie cheese
2 c applesauce
4 c kale, cooked down to 2 c (in microwave, vegetable steamer, or sauteed)
1 t dried basil
1 t ground black pepper
1 t garlic powder
0.5 t ground ginger

When pizza crust comes out of pre-bake, spread applesauce, cheese, and then kale on top, season to taste with dried basil, pepper, garlic powder, and ginger.  Bake for 15 minutes at 400 °F, or until kale is slightly crispy.