Pizza with Sautèed Leeks, Mushrooms and Bacon
Ingredients:
Dough for
Pizza Crust with Herbs
2 leeks, dark green parts removed, cut lengthwise and into half moons
8 ounces crimini, shitaki, and/or button mushrooms, sliced
4 slices thick cut bacon diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (about 3 ounces)
1 Tablespoon butter or ghee
1 Tablespoon Roasted Garlic or 3 cloves fresh, finely minced
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 leeks, dark green parts removed, cut lengthwise and into half moons
8 ounces crimini, shitaki, and/or button mushrooms, sliced
4 slices thick cut bacon diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (about 3 ounces)
1 Tablespoon butter or ghee
1 Tablespoon Roasted Garlic or 3 cloves fresh, finely minced
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Place oven rack in the very top position of the oven and place pizza stone on it. Heat oven to 550°F.
Add the sliced mushrooms to a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté for 5-10 minutes, until mushrooms have released their moisture and pan is dry. Remove from pan.
Add the bacon pieces and allow to render fat and start to become crisp. Remove bacon from pan and leave some of the flavorful fat.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee to pan and allow to melt.
Add the leeks and season lightly with salt and pepper (the bacon is salty, so you don't need much). Sauté for several minutes, until starting to soften.
Add the mushrooms back to the pan and continue to cook with the leeks, until starting to turn golden.
Add the bacon and the garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to one minute.
Taste mixture and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Remove from heat.
Place sheet of parchment paper on pizza peel. Use your hands to work the pizza dough ball into a disc. When it gets to be 6-8 inches across, place on the pizza peel and continue to spread into a 12 inch disc. If the dough starts to spring back and gets to difficult to work with, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and it should relax. Use a pastry brush to brush one tablespoon of olive oil all over the crust.
Spread half of the shredded cheese all over the dough, leaving about an inch of space all around the outside edge of the crust. Cover with the bacon leek and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
Transfer the pizza from the peel to the hot pizza stone. Open the oven and pull the rack out about halfway so that you have easier access to the hot stone.
Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Slide the parchment paper out from under the pizza for the last few minutes to allow the crust to crisp up directly on the stone.
Allow to sit for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Add the sliced mushrooms to a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté for 5-10 minutes, until mushrooms have released their moisture and pan is dry. Remove from pan.
Add the bacon pieces and allow to render fat and start to become crisp. Remove bacon from pan and leave some of the flavorful fat.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee to pan and allow to melt.
Add the leeks and season lightly with salt and pepper (the bacon is salty, so you don't need much). Sauté for several minutes, until starting to soften.
Add the mushrooms back to the pan and continue to cook with the leeks, until starting to turn golden.
Add the bacon and the garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to one minute.
Taste mixture and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Remove from heat.
Place sheet of parchment paper on pizza peel. Use your hands to work the pizza dough ball into a disc. When it gets to be 6-8 inches across, place on the pizza peel and continue to spread into a 12 inch disc. If the dough starts to spring back and gets to difficult to work with, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and it should relax. Use a pastry brush to brush one tablespoon of olive oil all over the crust.
Spread half of the shredded cheese all over the dough, leaving about an inch of space all around the outside edge of the crust. Cover with the bacon leek and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
Transfer the pizza from the peel to the hot pizza stone. Open the oven and pull the rack out about halfway so that you have easier access to the hot stone.
Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Slide the parchment paper out from under the pizza for the last few minutes to allow the crust to crisp up directly on the stone.
Allow to sit for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes:
You can also use a prepared pizza crust, like the low-carb crust our local grocery store sells, but fresh from scratch is always better.
Mozzarella by itself is wonderful, but adding Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar to the mix is too good to keep quiet about.
Dry sautè the mushrooms ahead of the rest removes most of their moisture, so they have a meatier texture instead of the spongy texture they sometimes have. Mushy mushrooms? Ick.
Here's an extra mushroom hack: toss in a splash of soy sauce a few seconds before you finish cooking the mushrooms. Up the umami to 10!
Sautèed leeks are sweet, milder than onions, and a savory delight. Besides...BACON!
If this is too sophisticated for your palate, your palate is broken. Stick with Dominos pizza. [*SHUDDER*]
Mozzarella by itself is wonderful, but adding Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar to the mix is too good to keep quiet about.
Dry sautè the mushrooms ahead of the rest removes most of their moisture, so they have a meatier texture instead of the spongy texture they sometimes have. Mushy mushrooms? Ick.
Here's an extra mushroom hack: toss in a splash of soy sauce a few seconds before you finish cooking the mushrooms. Up the umami to 10!
Sautèed leeks are sweet, milder than onions, and a savory delight. Besides...BACON!
If this is too sophisticated for your palate, your palate is broken. Stick with Dominos pizza. [*SHUDDER*]