"The cuisine of Piedmont in Italy has a decidedly French undertone.
Where else would you eat pizza with Bechamel Sauce? If you think this
combination is a bit rich, Waverly Root, in "The Food of Italy,"
describes a similar pizzette to which freshly grated white truffle
was added. Extravagant, yes, but absolutely scrumptious. Dried
porcini or fresh golden oak mushrooms would also make an excellent
and less expensive variation."
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Lightly coat
a baking sheet with vegetable oil.
Clean mushrooms and slice thin, then saute them in 2 tablespoons of
butter until all their excess liquid has evaporated.
Divide 1 recipe pizza dough into 6 or 10 or 12 equal pieces and roll
or press out each ball to the desired size. Arrange the pizzettes on
one or more prepared baking sheets. Spread each pizzette with some
Bechamel Sauce. Distribute the mushrooms over the sauce and top with
the cheeses. Dot each pizzette with butter and bake for 10 to 15
minutes, or until golden.
Yield: 6 6-inch appetizers size OR 10 to 12 4-inch party size
pizzette.
NOTE: Slomon suggests these crusts: Basic Pizza, Sicilian-style,
Semolina, Pepper-Lard, Sausage, Prosciutto, Herb, or Onion dough.
VARIATIONS
Soak 2 ounces of porcini in boiling water to cover for 10 minutes.
Rinse them well to rid them of their sand. Chop them roughly and
saute them in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter for 3 minutes. Add the
mushrooms to the Bechamel and proceed with the recipe.
Fresh golden oak (also known as shiitake mushrooms) or other wild
mushrooms can be substituted for cultivate mushrooms. Halve the amount
indicated in the recipe and prepare them in the same manner as regular
mushrooms.
