This white pizza is simply remarkable. Creamy ricotta cheese, sweet roasted garlic cloves, wilted bitter greens, tender mortadella, all on a lightly browned, pizza crust. And the finishing touches of briny capers and salty Pecorino Romano cheese. If you aren’t familiar with mortadella, it is similar in texture to our bologna but is usually thicker cut and flecked with roasted pistachios and a touch of fat. A lovely addition to an antipasto plate, salad, or even mixed in with your favorite ground meat in that go-to Bolognese sauce recipe.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Escarole & Mortadella Pizza
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ball of pizza dough, rolled to fit your round pizza pan
- Olive oil
- 1 anchovy filet
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 head of escarole, root end trimmed, rest cut into bite-sized pieces, washed and dried
- Salt and pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- ½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 head of roasted garlic
- (4) ¼-inch thick slices mortadella
- 2 Tablespoons capers, drained and patted dry
- Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Spray a round pizza pan with olive oil spray. Arrange the rolled pizza dough round on to the sprayed baking sheet.
- In a large, straight-sided saute pan, heat 1 Tablespoon of oil, crushed red pepper flakes (as many as you like), the anchovy filet and the escarole. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a big grinding of pepper. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the greens are wilted and the anchovy filet has melted. Squeeze the lemon juice into the greens.
- Spread the ricotta cheese onto the pizza round, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Next, arrange the roasted garlic cloves (peel removed) on top of the cheese, then the mortadella slices; top with the cooked escarole. Dot with the capers and the Pecorino cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is browned and puffed up. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tagged: anchovy, capers, crushed red pepper flakes, escarole, escarole and mortadella pizza, escarole pizza, homemade pizza, lemon juice, mortadella, pecorino cheese, pecorino romano cheese, pizza, ricotta cheese, roasted garlic, white pizza
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