Friday, May 30, 2014

Fresh Herb Pizza on Tender/Crunchy Pizza Crust

Fresh Herb Pizza on Tender/Crunchy Pizza Crust

A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.

A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.


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Herbs seem to be one of those feast or famine items for me--either my newly planted cilantro is ready to bolt, or I'm snipping my plants down a little too much for comfort just to get the minimum needed, or I'm overwhelmed with a glut of leaves and have to find something to do before they spoil. [I don't have a dehydrator--yet--it's fresh tomato pesto, garlic scape pesto, or pesto for me.]


A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.



Sometimes, when I put basil leaves on a pizza, they seem sort of dry and forlorn after baking.  For this pizza I spread plenty of roasted garlic oil on the crust to try and counteract this issue, and I believe it worked well.  I had both crumbled feta and crumbled goat cheeses in the cheese drawer--an embarrassment of riches if I don't say so myself--so instead of dithering between the two I used some of each.


A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.


The result is a pizza that tastes a bit like amped up cheesy garlic bread--fresh flavors, vibrant color, but a familiar taste [even if my daughter wasn't initially sure about the giant pile of green leaves on the pie].


A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.


This pizza is made using the Tender/Crispy pizza dough I used on my Dainty Radish Pizza.  The second time I made this dough my results started off pretty rough.  I made a gif showing how I fixed the dough with additional kneading, water, and time:


A photo tutorial showing what pizza dough should look like and how to fix dough when it needs more work.
For more pizza recipes, organized by category, like vegetarian pizzas, pizzas with seafood, savory pizzas with fruit, please see my Visual Pizza Recipe Index. For more recipes using a lot of herbs, please see my Recipes To Use Up Herbs Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.


A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.

Fresh Herbs with Three Cheeses  . . . . um, on a Pizza


Ingredients


  • 1 pound Tender/Crispy Pizza Dough (recipe here) or any type of pizza dough of your choice
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 large clove roasted garlic (here's how I put up my crop)
  • 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, basil, and thyme)
  • ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
  • ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • ¾ cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Instructions


For general directions on making pizza crust, please refer to my Pizza Primer post.  
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and if you've got a pizza stone let it preheat as well. [I'm just dipping my toe into grilling pizza, and will get up a post when I've got something of value to add to the conversation.] 
  2. On an oiled piece of parchment paper or a cookie sheet, stretch out dough into a pleasing shape. 
  3. In a small bowl combine olive oil and smashed garlic until blended. Spread across prepared dough. 
  4. Scatter chopped herbs across the top.  Top with cheeses, and perhaps a grind or three of pepper if you like.  
  5. Bake for 5-8 minutes, then slide the parchment out from underneath and bake directly on the pizza stone another 3-5 minutes until cheeses are browned. 
  6. Slice (Amazon affiliate link to my beloved pizza slicer) and serve.

This post is shared on the Clever Chicks Blog HopWhat's Cookin' WednesdayTasty Tuesdays, Food on Friday

8 comments:

  1. I often add the herbs on after the pizza is cooked, to avoid the wilting and browning. I've trimmed my new little basil plants down as much as I can, and now have to wait for the next leaves to grow. I love this time of year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lydia,
      That's a great idea--adding after baking--I do that with celery leaves and Buffalo chicken pizza.
      I would like to say I'm jonesing for basil, but in fact I'm not. I won't plant my basil until after I harvest my garlic (I use the same bed to get 2 crops, one garlic and one basil). It's true I could have basil earlier, but I won't have tomatoes anytime soon so there's less of an impetus to get the basil going.
      I do love this time of year--each time I walk out to the garden I see changes!
      Thank you.

      Delete
  2. Pretty sure I could eat this for lunch every day... Looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beth,
      I could probably eat pizza--of some sort--for lunch at least once a week, but every day . . . well I'd miss beet greens and grilled cheese sandwiches and bagels with lox and cream cheese, so I don't think I could eat pizza every day!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  3. Oh, that looks so good! I love pizza - especially when it's light and healthy without heavy or greasy meats and such - though you won't see me turn down a piece of pepperoni pizza! :) I have a bunch of oregano going crazy in my garden right now, I wonder if I could substitute the parsley and thyme for the oregano? Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vickie,
      You very easily can sub oregano for parsley and thyme. I got a big wad of savory in the farm share yesterday and will be trying that on a pizza this weekend.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. I love the gif. Seriously very helpful to see how to correct the dough.

    I also have trouble with the basil burning and usually add it just as I'm taking it out of the oven. I'll try your method next time.

    I want in on the cheese wealth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      You have the most awesome cheese stash I've seen. I can't imagine the goodness you're getting up to with your pizzas. As for the gif--thank you. It was not exactly easy to hold the dough and take the photo and return the whole thing to the mixer and so on and so on, but I thought it would help so I persevered.

      Delete