Introducing Astro Slice

Pizza Recipes Inspired by the Zodiac

I find that for me, what’s weird and what’s fun often collide, and this project is certainly both. I started it started last year when I wanted to challenge myself to draw something thematic once a month, so that by the end of the year, I would have twelve related drawings.

Naturally, I thought of pizza. Perhaps this isn’t something you naturally think about when you rifle through your library of ideas, but it is mine. And when I think “pizza”, I also think “fun”. But how would I differentiate the illustrations month to month? I could draw different pizza toppings. Not enough. Where was the weird?

And then I thought, how about astrology? I don’t necessarily think astrology is weird. But I do think that Astrology Pizza is kind of weird…in a fun way.

And so, thematic pizzas built around the zodiac signs were born, aka “Astro Slice”. I began with a drawing each month, starting with Capricorn which I learned was a sea goat. Sea. Goat. Sea goat riding the waves of mystical pizza…yes, yes. That seemed to check all my aforementioned boxes.

And with the endorsement of all 12 of my Instagram followers after posting the above illustration, I launched into the project wholeheartedly.

I struggled with a few, notably Gemini (egads, I have to draw people!)

and Libra (there are neither people NOR animals, how is this interesting?)

And of course put extra pressure on myself to make something stand out for my own sun sign, Scorpio.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying them so much (especially me) so a year and a half later, I created a shop where you can buy your personal Astro Slice in an 8x10 print, right here.

In celebration of completing that project, the upcoming solstice, and the beginning of Cancer Season, I’m writing pizza recipes to go with every sign, starting, of course, with Cancer.

A word of warning: while I am a pizza pro, I am an astrological amateur. I’m sure many could poke holes in my pairings, but hey, I’m the artist and I’m taking some creative license. So here goes.

Cancer rules the home and the heart, so this pizza needs to feel like a warm hug—an emotionally resonate comfort food.

For this, I focused on a creamy, satisfying base, infused with roasted garlic for extra umami, feta cheese for a salty, sea-like brine, and sage and bay leaves for earthy balance. I sautéed baby bella mushrooms and stirred them into a roux, and roasted oyster mushrooms for decorative flair. Crumbled sausage would be perfect here, but I didn’t have any, so I fried more sage for crispy texture and drizzled hot honey over the finished product once it was fresh off the grill (because it’s summer time, and I encourage cooking your pizza outside). Don’t forget the sea salt, of course.

This pizza should taste like sitting on the porch on a rainy, summer day while the sounds and smells of the outside and this freshly cooked pizza combine to stamp a flavor memory in your mind.

Want to make it? Even if you don’t have Cancer in your chart, it’s delicious. Cancer rules my 8th house (I looked it up), which is all about intimacy, trust, and shared resources. Hmmm… This newsletter is a great example of my shared resources, so I’m harnessing my inner Cancer when I share my recipes with you. I trust (see what I did there?) that you enjoy reading them, and may try a few. Why not start with this one?

Cancer Season Mushroom Melt Your Heart Pizza

Ingredients

• 2 rounds of pizza dough about 300g each (store bought is fine)

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• 2 tablespoons of flour

• 1 small shallot, chopped

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 head of roasted garlic (cloves squeezed out)

• 1 cup (give or take) of whole milk

• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese

• 1 pint baby bella or crimini mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced

• 1 pint Oyster mushrooms (optional, but fancy!)

• freshly ground black pepper

• sea salt

• Fresh sage (as much as you like, I think I used about 8-10 leaves, divided)

• Hot honey

• Extra virgin olive oil

Process:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat,

2. Add the shallot and a tiny pinch of salt and sauté for 5 minutes. Don’t let the shallot burn, so keep the heat low.

3. Add the sliced crimini mushrooms and sauté for a minute or two until they release their water. Then add a pinch of salt and a few healthy grinds of black pepper.

4. Continue to sauté until the mushrooms are properly wilted. Keep the pan on the heat, but remove the mushrooms to a bowl or Tupperware container (can be made 1 day ahead and stored in the fridge).

5. Add the butter to the pan. Add one large sage leaf and the bay leaves and sauté them in the butter. The fat from the butter will absorb the flavor from the herbs. Do this for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

6. Add the flour to the pan, stirring so the flour incorporates into the butter and doesn’t burn. Once incorporated, add the milk in two installments (1/2 cup at a time), continuing to stir. The mixture will thicken as it cooks. This is your roux. Once all the milk is added and the mixture is thick (it should coat the back of a wooden spoon), add the Feta cheese. You can break the cheese crumbles apart with the edge of your spoon as you stir. Feta doesn’t melt like some of the meltier cheeses, but it sure adds a nice bite!

7. Once everything is where you like it, remove the pan from the heat and transfer your sauce to a container. You can make this up to 1 day ahead and store it in the fridge. Makes a great pasta sauce, too, just FYI.

8. If you have oyster mushrooms, this is the time to roast them. They are funny looking—like they belong at the bottom of the ocean with the actual crabs. I added a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and chopped sage to mine and toasted them at 400°F degrees for 8 minutes. Keep in mind, they will cook again when you bake your pizza, so you don’t want to torch them prematurely.

9. Now fry the remaining sage. Heat olive oil (I used about 1/8 cup) in a small skillet. Once it’s hot, add the sage leaves. I add mine one or two at a time because they fry in seconds, so it’s best to give each your undivided attention. Remove them from the pan with tongs and rest on paper towels to drain.

10. I cooked my pizza on the grill, but you can do this in your regular oven. For grilled pizza, I have a specific method that I’ll share with you now.

11. Heat up the grill to about 500°F degrees. While the grill is heating, stretch out the pizza dough on an oiled sheet pan (I used a round one because I wanted a round pizza). Make sure to liberally oil BOTH SIDES of the pizza dough.

12. Once the grill is to temperature, place the oiled dough on the grill grate (yes, directly on there, you gotta trust, people - CANCER ENERGY!). Close the lid and let it bake for a minute or two.

13. Have your other toppings lined up alongside the grill because what happens next goes quickly.

    

14. Open the grill, and using a metal spatula, flip the dough over and immediately top it with:

    1. Feta/mushroom cream sauce

    2. Roasted oyster mushrooms

15. Close the lid and bake for another two minutes.

16. Use that spatula again to remove it from the grill and place it on a pizza pan or cutting board.

17. Sprinkle on a little sea salt, the fried sage, and drizzle with hot honey.

There’s nothing to be crabby about once you eat a slice of this.

Happy Solstice, pizza lovers! Don’t forget to grab a print for your favorite crab (or any other sign) here.