Gourmet Pizza

A Little Gourmet Pizza to Brighten Your Day

Gourmet pizza is so easy. It just takes a little imagination and some really great dough. I don't always make my dough, sometimes I run over to the local pizza place that I like and grab a couple of balls of ready to go dough. If you want to make your own dough, then awesome! Here is a great and easy recipe. 

Pizza Dough
2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil

It a food processor, combine all ingredients except water and olive oil. Sift together and as the blade turns, add water and oil. Once it pulls from the blade into a ball, it's ready. Let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes before you take it out and roll it. As you roll it, place flour on top and bottom, but not too much...you don't want your dough to become tough and too elastic. 

The famous Mark Bittman and his Mission Fig and Goat Cheese pizza

I just happen to have the ingredients that went on this pizza in my pantry already, but grab the ingredients that taste good to you and you feel will be a great combination. 

Fresh pizza dough, enough to make 2 medium pizzas'

a sprinkling of flour

4 T. marinara sauce, I used Barilla brand

2 T. olive oil mixed with granulated garlic & Italian seasoning blend

3 T. olive tapenade (my own recipe below)

2 oz. goat cheese crumbled

1 T. finely chopped fresh parsley

1 T. pine nuts

marinated artichokes

I don't have a pizza stone so I lined a baking sheet with foil, oiled it slightly with olive oil and a sprinkling of flour over top. I rolled out my dough to fit and then place the dough on top of the oiled sheet. The oven should be heated to 450 and you shouldn't put the pizza in the oven until it's fulled heated. I brushed the oil, garlic and Italian seasoning around the edge of the pizza then spread the marinara sauce. I sprinkled it with olive tapenade, marinated artichokes, crumbled goat cheese and last but not least pine nuts. I baked it for 20 minutes and it came out perfectly.

Olive Tapenade

Olive tapenade is so dang easy. All you need is a food processor and make a little trip to the olive bar at the grocery store. 

For 2 cups of tapenade, you'll need

1 scoop of marinated artichokes

1/2 scoop of roasted and marinated garlic

1 scoop of the classic Greek mix that has feta squares, Kalamata, Niçoise, and Picholine olives.

Now here's the hard part. These olives aren't pitted. Before you dump all the ingredients into the processor, pull the pits out of the olives. 

Place all ingredients into the processor with 1 T. fresh parsley. You can add walnuts or almonds for a nuttier flavor. This is the best!

Try these other topping combinations:

• sun dried tomato pesto, broccoli florets, cremini mushrooms, & gouda cheese

• zucchini circle (thin), prosciutto crumbles, buffalo mozzarella cheese & parsley 

• mission figs sliced, goat cheese and balsamic drizzle.

• caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese, parmesan, italian sausage & spring mescaline piled high with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic. Green go on after you bake of course!
• currants, marscapone cheese, roasted yellow peppers, crumbled bacon & a drizzle of olive oil.

• salmon, goat cheese, roasted fennel bulb, sprigs of dill and a squeeze of lemon and olive oil.

• roasted red fingerling potatoes, shallots, leeks, and brie cheese.

 This next recipe is awesome, I stretch the dough out and grill it on the outdoor grill sometimes too.

recipe courtesy of savourthesensesblog.com

Roasted Garlic Flat Bread

8 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tbsp basil (chopped)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Roll out your dough, sprinkle with basil, garlic, salt and black pepper and bake at 425 until golden. If it looks like the garlic is getting to crispy, lower the heat to 400 and spritz the oven with water.