Title: Pete's White Pizza
Categories: Vegetarian, Pizza
Yield: 4 servings
Toppings:
1 c Sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 c Red wine
3 tb Balsamic vinegar
3 tb Olive oil
1 Garlic head
3/4 c Pine nuts; toasted
1/2 lb Fontina cheese; sliced
Dough:
1/2 ts Sugar
1 pk Yeast
1/3 c Yellow cornmeal
1/2 ts Salt
2 c All-purpose flour
1 c Water; warm (110-115°F)
1 1/2 tb Olive oil
Pesto:
2 c Fresh basil leaves; chopped,
- firmly packed
1/4 c Pine nuts
1/2 c Parmesan cheese; grated
3 cl Garlic; chopped
1 ts Salt
3/4 c Olive oil
Prepare Toppings:
Put the sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl and cover with hot tap
water. Let soak, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Drain and
pat dry. Put back in the bowl and add the red wine, balsamic
vinegar, and olive oil and let sit, stirring occasionally, at least
1 hour.
Wrap the head of garlic in aluminum foil and roast in oven at 400°F
for about 30 minutes. Leave garlic in foil and refrigerate until
cool, about 30 minutes. When cool, carefully peel cloves and slice
into halves or thirds, and set aside.
Make dough:
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the sugar,
yeast, cornmeal, salt, and 1 cup of the flour, and mix for
15 seconds on a medium-low speed. While dry ingredients are mixing,
combine water and oil. While motor continues to run, slowly add
liquid ingredients in a steady stream. Then add remaining 2/3 cup
flour in 1/3-cup incremenmts, and mix until stiff dough forms and
pulls away from sides of bowl. Knead for 2 minutes more. Put dough
in a deep and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm
place 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
While dough is rising, make the pesto: Put garlic, Parmesan cheese,
salt, and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and process
until coarsely chopped and well mixed. Add basil and 2 or 3 tb of
the olive oil and pulse until a thick paste forms. Add half of the
remaining oil and process for about 10 seconds until all basil is
chopped fine but not pureed. Transfer pesto to a bowl and stir in
the remaining olive oil.
Assembly:
Preheat oven and baking stone to 450°F. When the dough is ready,
punch it down and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a
thin disk about 16 to 18" in diameter. Fold the outer edge in about
1/2" and pinch down to seal. Spread pesto evenly over crust. Space
sun-dried tomatoes evenly across the crust, skin side up. Sprinkle
pine nuts and roasted garlic slices evenly over pizza, then top
with Fontina slices, spaced evenly. Sprinkle a little cornmeal on
the baking stone. Carefully transfer the pizza to the baking stone
and reduce heat to 400°F. Bake until the crust is golden and the
cheese is brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few
minutes before slicing.
