The baked pizza topped with pepperoncini slices
I based this pizza idea on a photo I saw in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. They used escarole, a bitter green, instead of purple kale in their version, but I loved the color contrast of the purple kale that I settled on. A lovely and flavorful vegetarian pizza idea that is made even more tasty with a homemade whole wheat pizza crust. Tender kale cooked with garlic, along with tender roasted cherry tomatoes, make a nice pairing on top of shredded creamy provolone cheese. To add an acidic peppery note to the pizza, I garnished it with slices of hot pepperoncini pepper slices and briny capers. A quick weeknight pizza idea that is as pretty as a picture.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Purple Kale, Provolone & Cherry Tomato Pizza
Ingredients:
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Cornmeal, for the pizza pan
- 1 lb. whole wheat pizza crust
- 1 bunch of kale (or escarole, spinach, chickory, swiss chard), stems trimmed and leaves cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- Shredded provolone cheese
- 2 Tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
- Pepperoncini slices, for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the cherry tomatoes on a small baking sheet, drizzle with oil and roast for 25 minutes, or until wilted and tender. Set aside. Increase the heat on the oven to 425 degrees.
- In the meantime, form your pizza dough into a pizza round. Place it on a large baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
- In a large sauté pan, place 1 tablespoon of olive oil, along with the garlic slices and the kale leaves. Season the leaves with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Sauté over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and the leaves are wilted.
- Place the shredded cheese on top of the pizza crust, then top with the cooked kale and garlic, cherry tomatoes and capers. Bake the pizza in the hot oven for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust has risen.
- Garnish the pizza with pepperoncini slices, if desired. Cut and serve warm.
Tagged: cherry tomatoes, escarole, garlic, kale, pepperoncini slices, pizza, provolone cheese, purple kale, vegetarian, whole wheat pizza dough
Looks fabulous!
It was quite colorful and tasty! I love experimenting with new pizza toppings-a great way to use seasonal produce. I think it would be good with some Italian sausage too…